A group of students and faculty from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry recently traveled to Havana, Cuba, to take part in the first-ever dental health fair. The four-day clinics were coordinated with the Cuban Union of Seventh-day Adventists and the Office of Religious Affairs and Public Health in Cuba. More than 300 people received free dental care during the fair, organizers said.
Dr. Gary A. Kerstetter, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry director and professor, along with a team comprising third- and fourth-year dentistry students, performed fillings, cleanings, and extractions. A handful of local Adventist dentists and professionals assisted with the procedures. The clinics were held at the Cuba Adventist Theological Seminary (SETAC) in Havana and at the Public Health Clinic in the Boyeros borough. The team also provided oral health education for each patient.
“We have been able to be part of a mission of dentistry work, providing clinical experience for our students where they can do procedures on patients and also have an opportunity for [cultural] experience in a different country where they can help people in another situation,” Dr. Kerstetter said.
The team from Loma Linda brought a portable X-ray machine, dental tools, equipment, and supplies, Dr. Kerstetter said. “We had six-to-eight patients being seen on five chairs each day, and they were so appreciative to our team for the work they performed on them.”
The clinics were historic and extraordinary, said Dr. Orquídea Ferrer Hurtado, director of Christian Medical Services Network, an organization that organizes health professionals through the Cuban Public Health Ministry.
Dr. Ferrer, who is also a faculty professor at the School of Dentistry in Havana, said the intervention led by the Loma Linda University team meant a lot to her and the ten health professionals who joined to take part in the dental clinics. “We were able to assist and share professional experiences and how things work here,” said Ferrer. “They learned from us, and we learned from them, and that’s what it’s all about.”
“I am more than grateful to God, and these students who came to help us did magnificent work on me and my children,” said Yaremis Leyva Ross, a local resident.
“This health fair has opened a door here,” said Pastor Heber Paneque, Health Ministries director for the Cuban Union. Church members and people in the community were among the patients who benefitted from the dental health fair. “We are incredibly thankful and saw how it made so many people happy and could sense that the government authorities were also pleased with the oral health fair,” he said. “We know that it will open new doors for Loma Linda University to continue serving humanity how God wants us to do for the world.”
Obed Carrera, program manager for Loma Linda University Students for International Mission Service, said there have been several trips to Cuba during the past six years. Many of them included multidiscipline mission trips twice a year, but this year brought a new level of medical care services, he said. Carrera and Dr. Kerstetter traveled to Cuba a month before the clinics to go over logistics with local church leaders and government officials.
Crystal Robinson, who traveled as a nurse for the team and has been part of logistics mission trips to Cuba for several years, said the latest trip has been a blessing. “Students remember most of the people’s resiliency and see how happy, appreciative, and willing to give you whatever they have to show gratitude,” she said.
“It has been a life-changing trip for us,” Dr. Kerstetter said. “We hope to have more opportunities to show a little bit of human compassion for the people in Cuba.”
Dayami Rodriguez contributed information for this report.
The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division website.