Hello everyone! Wagwon?(How are you?)
Among my busy schedule these days (full time dental hygiene school, training for a marathon, my spiritual & family obligations, and the list goes on) I have been traveling!! I had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to the country of Jamaica to study abroad with some of my classmates. It's amazing how fast time flys by. I remember at orientation for dental hygiene school, our program director said that we would be the first class to have the opportunity to study abroad in Jamaica! The moment I heard that I knew I was going! I HAD to!! I have a heart for helping others. I feel that if we have the means and ability (whether it be financial, physically with our hands, or verbally with our words) we should be helping others! I knew this was going to be the experience of a lifetime and I did not want to miss out on it!
The class found out that there would only be 6 spots available for students to attend the trip out of 31 students. I started to get nervous. Would I be chosen to go? The class all thought I would because I am the "president" of my class, but I didn't believe that. I didn't believe students would be chosen to go by their status, but by their character and work ethic. When all was said and done, I WAS chosen to go!! I will thrilled! Now came the start of the hard work.
As soon as the 5 other students and I found out we were going to Jamaica, we began our meetings. We arranged fundraisers, started to contact major dental supply companies for product donations, and soliciting our family and friends for donations. Each student had to come up with about $2000 for this entire trip. This amount would include our program fees to participate with Great Shape Inc., the 501c3 non-profit organization which would be arranging the dental work through their dental program of 12 years- 1000 Smiles. This amount would also include the estimate amount for air fair, and other estimated expenses. We needed to promptly submit our passport information and request temporary work visas from the Ministry of Health of Jamaica. Needless to say, getting accepted to go was the easy part!
Over the following months my classmates and I worked very hard to raise money for the mission we were about to go on. We were SO AMAZINGLY supported by out student government association of St. Petersburg College and was given $1000 per student. This amount covered a majority of the expenses. The remaining balance of money we would need for this trip was donated from family and friends. My classmates and I will be forever grateful for the loving support we received from everyone! We created a letter to send out to possible sponsors and to our surprise we started to get support and donations. Big name companies like Colgate, Listerine, and Patterson Dental started to donate supplies to us! I am guesstimating that we brought along with us over $5,000 worth of dental supplies. We shipped the supplies out in July so they would have time to arrive in Jamaica and go through customs. Our hard work had paid off! All of the leg work was done and we were finally able to relax and just prepare for the adventure.
While working my classmates and I saw some of the worst periodontal conditions we have ever seen, likely due to lack of education and access to care.We loved working with all the Jamaican people. They were all so loving and kind, so patient and tolerant of dental treatment. Some teeth I was going into pockets 6-10mm and my patients would not even flinch! They were so appreciative. It was a very different experience then working with American people. The working conditions were hard because we had portable units that were not ideal, along with chairs that were basically beach chairs. Ergonomics were out the window this week, unfortunately.
We had so many great experiences that is is hard to recall them all! After working on these Jamaicans for 5 days I had fallen in love with them and their culture. I have been dubbed a "JAMERICAN"!!! 
After a long and busy week of working we were finally able to take a break and see the country! We all went to YS Falls. We went Zip-linning and swung off a rope swing and jumped in the falls! It was so refreshing! It was an amazing day!!
When the day finally came to leave for Jamaica we were all ecstatic! We weren't sure what to expect except to have a great time!! Our plane ride went great and next thing you know we were on the beautiful island of Jamaica!! Once arriving at the gorgeous Sandals resort of Whitehouse, Jamaica we quickly got to work. We had meetings and orientations to organize the coming weeks activities. There were 3 clinics that we would be working in. The closest was 10 minutes from the resort (the clinic I worked at), the farthest was 1 hour 45 minutes up the mountains! All 3 clinics were in rural areas that have 1 dentist for every 100,000 people, SO you could imagine that the access to dental care was extremely limited. My clinic was located in a beautiful fishing village with lots of goats running around and a market down the road.
While working my classmates and I saw some of the worst periodontal conditions we have ever seen, likely due to lack of education and access to care.We loved working with all the Jamaican people. They were all so loving and kind, so patient and tolerant of dental treatment. Some teeth I was going into pockets 6-10mm and my patients would not even flinch! They were so appreciative. It was a very different experience then working with American people. The working conditions were hard because we had portable units that were not ideal, along with chairs that were basically beach chairs. Ergonomics were out the window this week, unfortunately.
Here is one before and after of a female patient I treated!She was so thankful that I cleaned the stain off her teeth that she screamed and jumped out of the chair SO HAPPY! She said she couldn't get dental floss so she had been using thread from a t-shirt to floss! I ended up giving her about 50 floss boxes (thanks REACH)! She was genuinely grateful!
We had so many great experiences that is is hard to recall them all! After working on these Jamaicans for 5 days I had fallen in love with them and their culture. I have been dubbed a "JAMERICAN"!!! After a long and busy week of working we were finally able to take a break and see the country! We all went to YS Falls. We went Zip-linning and swung off a rope swing and jumped in the falls! It was so refreshing! It was an amazing day!!
I feel so privileged to have been able to have this experience while in dental hygiene school. I have benefited greatly from studying abroad and would recommend it to anyone! I am more confident in my clinical skills. While in Jamaica I was only able to use one sickle hand instrument, an ultrasonic, and a mirror due to the lack of instruments available as compared to school where I have 15 instruments to chose from so I had to learn to adapt quickly. I feel I worked harder there then I ever have in clinic at school and I would have never been able to grow as fast as I did in Jamaica. I am looking forward to volunteering my time again next year!! I highly recommend this for any dental professional who has the means and ability to care for others to extend your gifts in this way. My heart is full and I feel I got back much more then I could have ever given to the people of Jamaica!
~One Love~
