Thought I’d post a couple pics from a recent trip to the Dominican Republic. At the Southern Laser Conference quite a few of us were discussing different trips we had taken. # dentists and about 50 highschoolers worked in the dental clinic or building the christian School we setup in.

Los Alcarizzos Community

Daughter Allison and I in the ‘clinic’

One of the challenges in the D.R. is that we can’t possibly take everything we need with us, so you improvise alot!  Below the 1st pic is the my D.R. version of the metal for a monodont (large, scored paperclip embedded in proximals w/ composite). The lateral was then extracted (abcessed), the palatal slotted and bonded to the metal clip/adjacent teeth and built up w/ Gradia. The second picture shows a central completed this way.

The reaction from these ladies was incredible when they saw their new smile (when they previously had no hope of ever replacing these teeth). If you haven’t gone on a trip like this I would encourage you to do so as you leave with the idea that you can use your talents to bless someone else and you’ll be the one being blessed.

Have a great weekend,