So just in case anyone is wondering where I am right now, the answer is Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa and famous for LEMURS! I'm actually writing this update as I'm riding in a small boat on a 3 hour river trip returning from a lemur reserve. However, the purpose of my time in Madagascar is not only for the lemurs (as incredibly cute and amazing as they actually are) but to volunteer on the Mercy Ships dental team again for the next 2 months or so. My friend Karen and I arrived Sunday the 15th in the port town of Tamatave, Madagascar where the ship is presently docked and have already put in almost 2 weeks of work at the dental clinic with a team of familiar faces and new friends. I worked as a dental assistant the first week with Toni, a children's dental care provider from Australia, who also worked with me on same team in Congo last year. Toni, our Malagasy translators Arlin and Jacquiot, and I make up the pediatric specialty of the dental clinic. We treat all the kids much to our delight and others relief, with usually only a few screamers a day. Stickers, stuffed animals, and balloons help to make the dental treatment a little more tolerable, although we've found Malagasy teeth to usually be in very bad condition. Most of the kids need multiple extractions and many fillings for baby and permanent teeth. One little toddler even came in pain from all of her upper front teeth being completely rotted into the gums. It's heartbreaking to see so much neglect and decay especially in the mouths of children. But, we're all happy to help save what teeth we can, remove the the teeth that can't be saved, and hopefully teach some good oral hygiene habits at the same time. After running out of pediatric patients for the day, my new job becomes giving local anesthesia to adults or the dreaded "novacaine" shots and extracting a few teeth, after the patient is numb of course. For my second week of work I'm filling in for a dental hygienist who couldn't come at the last minute, so there has been lots of variety in the dental clinic so far. I'm definitely looking forward to what the next few weeks on the ship brings and to seeing some more lemurs this weekend!
The dental pediatric pro team
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