Beautiful Smiles!

This past weekend at Espwa hundreds of our kids lined up to see a dentist. Dental Care for Children, an organization that offers free dental care in communities like ours all over the world, visited for two days with a team of about 20 members. Dr. Tozzer and his fellow dentists, dental assistants, hygienists, interns, and assistants came from all over the country and set up a fully-functioning dental clinic in our medical center late on Friday night when they arrived.

The team worked all day on Saturday and Sunday to see as many Espwa kids as they could and even some people from the surrounding community. In the two days they were able to see over 250 patients total. Because many of our kids practice good dental hygiene, a lot of them only needed a routine cleaning. Over the course of the weekend, however, the dentists performed several extractions, root canals, and countless other complicated procedures that might have cost hundreds of dollars in the United States. They were aided with translation by some of our older boys who held mirrors and heads in place diligently both days of the weekend.

Each child that was seen was put at ease by the friendly dentists in their red scrubs that read "Creating Smiles, Fueled by Rhum" (they use rhum as part of their sanitation solution for their tools). After their appointment every kid received a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a toy and were reminded of proper brushing habits.

This is the 10th time Dr. Tozzer's team has visited us here at Espwa and we are so grateful for all of the good work they do here and at their other international locations. We are so lucky that so many of our kids can receive this dental care which would amount to thousands of dollars of dental care in the United States. Thanks again, Dr. Tozzer and team!