Airmen provide dental care to Guyanese patients

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nicole Roberts
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  Members of the 59th Dental Group from the Wilford Hall Medical Center here participated in a humanitarian mission to give routine dental care to people in Guyana July 19 through 31.

A team of six doctors and 14 enlisted Airmen brought mobile dental equipment needed for the two-week rotation to Guyana for New Horizons, a $9 million exercise designed to strengthen ties with partner nations in Central and South America through combined quality of life improvement projects. 

On the first day alone, the team was able to see 40 Guyanese patients a a school in Diamond, and by the end of the two weeks the Airmen had seen 600 patients.

"The patients were very grateful and waited in line for hours to be seen," said Col. (Dr.) Raymond Hancock, the director of periodontics for the 59th Dental Training Squadron. "The country has a very poor infrastructure with only 30 dentists in the entire country."

Everything from lab tests to medication was provided to the patients who showed up to the free clinic from Georgetown and the outlaying areas. The team did cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals and tooth repairs. This routine care is normally not available or affordable to the residents.

The doctors also held lecture at the dental school while in Guyana, but found there was an extreme shortage of text books. Since returning to Lackland Air Force Base, the team is organizing an effort to get text book donations from the more than 1,000 dentists throughout the Air Force to send back to the Guyana's dental students.

"I am extremely proud of the team for their extraordinary compassion and quality of care," Doctor Hancock said.