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A new topic for our workshops: Dental Healthcare

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Part of our Mobile Clinic routine at MEDLIFE is the dental station, where patients are able to receive dental treatments such as cleanings and extractions. Many of the communities we serve are in very remote areas, so even the simplest tooth cleaning can become complicated if the tools and resources to perform it are not available. Another important station at Mobile Clinics is the toothbrushing station, directed at children. Here, we teach them how to brush their teeth correctly, how to use fluoride, and give them a brand-new toothbrush.

However many adults also come to this station discretely, listening in the back as our student volunteer give toothbrushing lessons to the young ones. This is because many of these adults have never received dental hygiene education and are unaware of the importance of brushing our teeth on a daily basis.

In the past few months, we have heard several stories from patients that have inspired us to take a step further and add a new segment to our educational workshop: dental health.

Stories like Giovanna’s and Selvestrina’s have showed us that the lack of dental education and preventive measures can end in the loss of all of one’s teeth, such as in their cases. Selvestrina and Giovanna went several years without being able to fully smile until MEDLIFE gave them the necessary support. Now it’s time to go further.
 

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Doctor Jorge Vidal accompanied us to our last educational workshop to hold our first presentation about dental health. The workshop was held in the Marco Polo Educational Center in Villa María del Triunfo. About 80 community members attended to hear presentations on nutrition, domestic violence, diabetes, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and now dental health.  

“We have plans to create an area of MEDLIFE specifically for patients who have dental problems, and the first step is holding these dental health presentations at our workshops,” said Carlos Benavides, Director of MEDLIFE Peru.

Jorge Vidal, Orthodontic Doctor, has supported MEDLIFE since the beginning when Jorge was just a dental student. He has seen the growth of this organization and is very proud to have an active role in MEDLIFE’s mission: bringing medicine, education and development to communities in need.

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Workshop participants remained very interested throughout the presentation and even took the opportunity to ask questions to Dr. Jorge about preventative dental health. Deemed a success, “this is the first of many workshops,” Benavides said.

At MEDLIFE we are proud to be able to take the extra step and bring more support to people who need it.

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Hear it From MEDLIFErs

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Reya Seby
Western University

This trip motivated me more to pursue a career in the healthcare field so that I can use my resources to help those who need it the most, similar to MEDLIFE’s mission.

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Victoria DiCanio
University of Connecticut

It was most enjoyable to finish the hard work and see how big a difference a group of individuals can make. It was such an amazing experience.

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Anita Woo
University of Toronto

I enjoyed the mobile clinics the most, especially the dental and triage portions. I would definitely recommend a MEDLIFE trip, it was a great experience.

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David Saff
Maclay High School

The most enjoyable part of my trip was hanging out with the amazing group of kids I was with. I would highly recommend a MEDLIFE volunteer trip to others.

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Sydney Sansone
Nova Southeastern University

This trip made everything that I was learning in my public health courses come to life and immersed me in a new culture while also learning about medicine.

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Abygail Youmans
College of Charleston

Being involved with MEDLIFE is not like joining another club - its bigger than that. It is about joining a movement that seeks to help change people’s quality of life for forever.

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Emi Hofmann
University of Central Florida

Not only was I able to participate in a week long Mobile Clinic, shadowing doctors of all types of specialties including pharmacy, dentistry, gynecology, and more, but I was also able to learn about the culture and visit incredible places.

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Julian Takagi-Stewart
University of Toronto

One thing that I really loved about this trip was that MEDLIFE made sure that the volunteers got an understanding of the complexity of issues that lead to underprivileged people in communities outside of the main city

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Hannah Van Hofwegen
University of Ottawa

Whether it was basketball with the local kids, assisting the doctors, talking with families, building washrooms, holding babies, or spending time with the people who were on the SLT with me, this was an amazing opportunity that I would do over and over again.

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Isabelle Holt
Cornell University

I loved learning about the patients MEDLIFE has followed and how they offer real help to people with chronic/urgent conditions. It is amazing how the organization formed real connections with the communities.

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Valerie Lindeborg
Parent

Our family had the privilege of participating in multiple trips with Nick [founder] and his amazing staff. Their expertise made the trips unforgettable while instilling in my boys the fundamentals of good character: selflessness, compassion, and empathy.

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Harry Vildibill
University of Georgia

As an aspiring physician, MEDLIFE motivated me to further continue my goal of becoming a doctor. In fact, I enjoyed the Tanzania Service Learning Trip so much that I decided to go on another trip to Cusco, Peru.