July 22nd & 23rd, 2o22
This opportunity was extremely eye-opening to some of the aspects of dentistry that most don’t talk about. Low-income counties directly correspond to drug use and specifically, methamphetamine has a very large impact on overall teeth health. I went to this convention with my boyfriend’s dad, who is a practicing dentist in Richmond, and his two younger sisters.
We got there checked into the hotel downtown in Wise Virginia and went to bed. We woke up early the next morning and went to the UVA-Wise campus. It was still dark out when we got there and it was really hard to find because the roads had been changed and were not up to date with the campus. They provided breakfast for us and led us all through a general debriefing about the mission of the project and its origin. Missions of mercy have been around for a long time and used to be held outside under tents at fairgrounds. However, after COVID the mission became organized, and was able to move everything inside with a very good flow.
This event is a really great opportunity for some dentists, dental students, and pre-dental students to get experiences that highlight the reality of extreme situations. I shadowed several different dentists but found myself really interested in oral surgery. Dr. Eschenroeder was recently retired and more than willing to teach and show some important tips in oral surgery and his personal experiences. The next day I helped assist Dr. Fortner, my boyfriend’s dad. This was a really great experience because of how willing and patient Dr. Fortner is to teach me.
Then I had a serious experience that I will never forget. We had a young boy about 5 years old who needed a filling and two teeth extracted. The filling was quick and easy along with the first tooth. However, the second tooth was the first molar and we were seriously unaware of how attached the root was to the adult tooth. The boy was in serious pain no matter the amount of local anesthetic we administered. He was screaming in the auditorium for 15 minutes we worked on the tooth but finally, we took him over to the oral surgeons and they gave him a palette shot of local anesthetic. They were immediately able to get the tooth out and eliminate the pain. After that, it was lunchtime and I was really mentally exhausted after the experience with the young boy, especially since we were so exposed to the rest of the entire gym. However, I got to meet the new dean of the dental school and he advised me that if I were to take a gap year I should work in a dental office to gain more experience rather than going backpacking across Europe.
I learned a lot from this experience. During it, I learned from dental students that a gap year is not that bad of an option and can actually be beneficial to the first year of dental school. Long term I learned a lot about assisting because I never got to do it before.
I have attached my artifact here, a link to the youtube expose of the MOM event I assisted at.
Artifact details: Name; Dentistry at VCU, Date; July 22nd & 23rd, and Title; 2022 Wise Mission of Mercy.