This was a short trip to Moca, Dominican Republic. The purpose was to introduce Arnold AArnie@ Burdick, a pediatric dentist, to the mission work in Moca. Arnie had never been in the Dominican Republic before and had no idea what to expect. Arnie=s constant request was for me to arrange for him work in a public school where he could screen and work with children under 14 years of age. I had to keep reminding Arnie that I had not, as of yet, been able to make any contacts in the public school systems and we would not be in the schools. My goal has been to start an education program in the public schools in order to begin preventive dentistry at a very young age but I had not made the right contacts

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and settled down for the weekend. This was a time to prepare the equipment and acquaint Arnie with the people and food of the Dominican Republic. Sunday was an all day picnic with the Torrent de Vida church where Arnie met dozens of families, played games and ate traditional Dominican food

CLINIC #1

Monday began with a clinic in the Torrent de Vida church which is the center of operations for Christian Medical Mission. The congregation had been informed that we would be seeing any children under 14 years old.

. We also saw any adult which was in pain. This day went well as Arnie became accustomed with our portable equipment. We worked the entire day, only stopping for lunch.

CLINICS #2 & 3

Tuesday and Wednesday we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we had been scheduled to work in a public school run by volunteers in Moca. This school caters to children which are very poverty stricken and the children are given a good meal each day at school. We screened almost 100 children in the morning and recorded statistics. In the late morning we began work on the more severe cases and continued working until the end of the day. These children had very bad teeth and we were only able to repair the most severely decayed teeth. WEDNESDAY we returned to continue working on the school children throughout the entire day. This school has about 150 children enrolled. We were not able to see all the children but we are trying to make arrangements to return to that school and do a continuing project there. This is, I hope, the beginning of my work in the public schools. Inquiries are being made into setting up a room in the complex to start the preventive care teaching and clinics. This is a great place to start a sealant program All that is needed is help with the funding and supplies. A high speed curing light is needed for this project due to the number of children and the time limitations.

CLINIC#4

THURSDAY was spent at a delightful location in Santiago. Again the call was for children under 14. We saw children from 3 to 16 years old. We worked outside under a large tree with a good breeze. The children had some teeth pulled, some filled with amalgam and reconstructive work was provided where appropriate. We also did quite a few sealants.

CLINIC #5

Friday in Guabano Bright and early Friday morning we were picked up by a wonderful lady pastor from Guabano and taken a long way back into farm country where I had worked in March. This is a very remote area where the children seldom ever see a dentist. The women of the community had created a list of childrens names for us and had the children arrive throughout the day. There was a never ending line of children needing dental care. We were not able to see all the children in need. There were just too many. We need more help. The highlight of this clinic was a teenage girl that had a broken front incisor which was black from arrested decay. She asked us to remove the tooth because, A it looked bad.@ We asked her if she would like us

When we arrived back in Moca that night people were already talking about this young girl and her new tooth.

The Work Continues

I have no idea how many children we worked on. The line never ends. You see one after another, and before you have an opportunity to prepare the instruments for the next child he or she is already in the chair. They are all precious, loving little children. All they want is help. They don=t complain about anything. They tell you they have no pain. No volunteer ever returns from Moca the same. How can we turn them away? I have spent 2 months there this year and plans are already being made to return. I have been in some areas 2,3,4 times. I already see an improvement.

** I NEED YOUR HELP**

You can help in many ways.

VOLUNTEER -- Volunteers are needed to help on the trips. FINANCIAL --Financial help is always needed. All donations are tax deductible. EQUIPMENT-- Any dental/medical equipment in good repair and supplies are the backbone of this work. Without equipment we can not work and grow.

CORPORATE HELP

Hu-Friedy

Thank you Hu-Friedy for your beavertail inserts for out 30K Cavitro to fix the tooth? She asked AHow can you do that?@ We told her to watch and see. 30 minutes later she was given a mirror to see her new smile. We all Jet. These inserts continue to work wonders in the Dominican Republic. Most of our instruments are Hu-Friedy and they have preformed wonderfully under the most harsh conditions we encounter. Hu-Friedy will be with us in India and Nepal in January. AHu-Friedy is really a sharp company.

MID WEST

Not a single child was treated without a Midwest burr. Mid West donated a wonderful collection of burrs which will allow us to continue this work for many trips in the future. If the young girl with the new smile knew it was your donation that prepared her tooth for reconstruction she would give you all a big hug. Thanks MIDWEST

KERR

The Kerr Corporation donated a curing light and Tytin amalgam. The curing light was in constant use for reconstructive work and sealants. The light worked without flaw and of course the amalgam was in constant use. Your light was the ABright spot@ on the young girls smile. Your dedication to these kids is a wonderful thing. God Bless you Kerr for your help.

GC America

GC America has continued to be a part of our work in third world countries. Fuji IX has been invaluable for quick repair in very remote areas. GC America sent us a supply of Fuji IX which will also be used in the most remote, challenging areas we will probably ever encounter when we travel to India and Nepal in January. Thanks GC America for having the same faith in us that we have in you.

ENGLE Dental Systems

Our work in future remote areas will be a lot easier thanks to Engle Dental. This generous company sent to us a Micro II system. This system was chosen by me because of its high reliability. When working in areas where repair is not an option you need equipment that you can count on to be dependable without fail!! This unit will be built into a portable dental system and will be out main work horse in Nepal and India. THANKS for the 2 Lars hand pieces. They were used in the Dominican Republic on this trip. This gift was an unexpected plus. We really need hand pieces. We now have a good supply of high speed hand pieces for out work. Arnie was also impressed with the ease of changing burrs on the Lars handpiece.

Patterson Dental Words can=t tell the story of the mass of supplies which the folks at Patterson help our mission with. When I walk into the Patterson Dental office I feel like I am surrounded by friends, all interested in the dental care of the kids we see. Patterson always has the time to give information and help. Patterson Dental Supply is obviously a service oriented company that takes a personal interest in the people they serve. You have all made our job in the field a lot easier. Thanks Patterson Dental. We love each and every one of you.

DONATIONS

If you would like to help with the financial needs of the Mission to the Children please send any contributions to Christian Medical Mission % Jack Meibaum, 100 South Street Apt.#2, Concord, NH 03301. All donations are tax deductible . For more information feel free to call me at 603-228-3561 603-225-9495 = fax e-mail at missionary12@juno.com