Clinic Day One

Up until now it’s been preparation. For me this has meant unpacking supplies and setting up a dental operatory. Today we see patients and find out what might have been better prepared. The task is daunting. The Haitians are fond of sugarcane, and it shows. It’s easy to identify a dozen decayed teeth in the mouths of young and otherwise healthy patients. If a low point in the day had to be identified, it would be feeling overwhelmed before a single tooth is filled. Choices are made and the work begins.

At the end of the day I’ve done a dozen things that would be considered malpractice back home. Infection control is crude, informed consent is cursory, and teeth are extracted without benefit of radiographs. I know the treatment plans that are made will never be completed for these people. What shines in the chaos is the spirit of those around me. Elva draws the short straw. This day is her first as a dental assistant. She deals with each hurdle with grace and unwavering devotion even though her back must be killing her (she never once complains).

 

 I meet the toughest 17 year-old in the world. From anesthetic through three extractions (one of which was challenging and took 45 minutes), the kid does not flinch or whimper. The clinic purrs around me, and I emerge from the Dental room for a short break. I walk past my daughter. She is holding a 5 day-old girl whose Mother died in childbirth.

 

 

The baby is doing well, and someone who loves her saw that she was brought to clinic today.

 It is heartening to see the Haitian’s support system is as broad as their resources are thin. I am left to wonder who is rich and who is poor.

 Dr Dennis