Newsletter
SYRACUSE, N.Y., USA: Aspen Dental, one of the largest networks of independent dental care in the U.S., has announced that a team of clinicians recently provided free dental care to almost 400 patients during a weeklong humanitarian mission to Haiti. Owing to an earthquake that occurred there about five years ago, many Haitians still do not have access to regular dental care.
According to Aspen Dental, living conditions, such as public transport and housing, have improved since the devastating earthquake in 2010. However, there is still a significant lack of access to dental care and dental education is almost absent.
"Over there it is the norm that you do not think about your body until it starts to hurt," said a dental assistant. "By the time most people see us, extraction is the only option," added Dr. Chedly Schatzie Vincent, who led the mission.
Nine clinicians involved in the Aspen Dental network, including dentists, dental assistants and hygienists, volunteered to provide care to adults and children in Haiti, and educated people on maintaining oral health during the mission. The team was accompanied by two laboratory technicians, who were forced to develop a field-expedient device using a pressure cooker and a locally purchased bicycle tire pump to produce dentures for the patients.
This was the second time the company sponsored a dental humanitarian mission in the country. The first mission took place in November 2012.
