Caledonia Argus

Schieber teaches Jamaican children importance of good dental health

Posted: 6/11/02

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

To most people, Jamaica is a tropical paradise and vacation destination. But when Sarah Schieber of Caledonia traveled there for a week April 20-27, her goal was not fun and sun, it was to deliver dental care to a poor area about one hour north of the popular tourist destination, Montego Bay.

The trip to Jamaica took place during Sarahís last semester as a dental school student at the University of Minnesota. She was one of 25 volunteers from the dental school to make the trip, and one of 10 third and fourth-year dental students. There were also 10 hygiene students and five dentists on the trip.

Sarah explained that the trip is one that the University has made for about 15 years. The U makes the trip in the spring, and the University of Virginia in the fall. The group visted two schools to provide dental care to children, and conducted two clinics for adults.

The circumstances under which the students and their advisors provided the dental care werenít exactly state of the art. Folding chairs were set up on porches outside the buildings. The hygienists and dentists stood while they worked, and didnít have the luxury of artificial lighting.

The children at the schools were excited about their visitors and wanted to get as close as possible to the action. In fact, the work area had to be roped off to give the students room to work.

The students focused on preventative care with the children, said Schieber. They held clinics at two schools, and numerous other schools taught proper hygiene. In all, they applied sealants to 1,500 teeth and provided 1,700 fluoride treatments. In some cases, said Schieber, teeth needed to be extracted because of decay or to make room for permanent teeth. They did some fillings.

ìThe main goal is to teach kids to take care of their teeth,î said Schieber.

Snacking on sugar cane contributes to tooth decay among children, said Schieber, and adding to the problem is that they arenít taught good dental habits at home.

At the schools, it became more difficult to work as the day went on, said Schieber, because the children who had service first would go back and scare the other children. The students had treats for the children to reward them for their good behavior.

The work was done free of charge on a first come, first served basis. People would begin to line up for an hour before the clinic opened at 8 a.m., said Schieber.

Most of the adults seen at the clinics had extractions. Under different circumstances, said Schieber, a dentist would probably try to save or restore some of the teeth, but the students did not have the equipment available to them to do that. They performed about 1,000 extractions on the trip. Most of the patients were very grateful because they were in pain from toothaches. They had novacaine available to help alleviate the pain.

The trip was financed by the students themselves, either personally or through donations. The 3M Corporation donated all the supplies for the trip.

After a day of clinics, the volunteers would make the hour drive back to the resort and spend the evenings relaxing. The next day, it was back to the clinics for a full day of work.

Schieber said she would make the trip again ìin a second.î

ìIt was a lot of hard work, you stand the whole day, from 8-4,î she said, ìIt was tiring, but it was definitely worth it.î

Schieber received her DDS last month, and is now busy preparing for her July 20 wedding to Ryan Herman. In August, she will join Dr. George Frisch in his Caledonia practice.

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