Carolina Biran has been on mission trips before.
In fact, Biran, a fourth-year dental student at the UNMC College of Dentistry, holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in her native Brazil, so she’s provided dental services during previous mission trips.
But this summer, when she accompanied associate professor Richard Williamson, DDS, two other dental students and a laboratory technician to El Naranjito, south of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, the weeklong trip was the longest and most remote she’d ever been on.
“In such a remote location, it’s interesting to see the impact in the community, as well as how the community engages,” she said. “Giving back is important to me, and it was nice to treat people’s pain and help them as much as we could.”
“The mission trip is a nearly 30-year service to this and surrounding villages and traditionally has received volunteer teams four times a year,” Dr. Williamson said. The non-profit organization sponsoring the mission, Somos Amigos, “is planning to expand this to a full time, fully staffed mission” he said.
While the trip itself is approaching its 30-year mark, the village’s clinic has been standing for only about 20, he said. Until recently, all the volunteers stayed in villagers’ homes; now, there is a converted home into a multi-room “dorm” for visiting students, faculty and other volunteers.
Dr. Williamson and Biran agreed: It’s a great experience for students to go on a foreign mission trip.
“Even in your own town, it’s enriching,” Dr. Williamson said. “But when you go to a foreign country, especially if you don’t speak the language, you move outside your comfort zone and learn a lot about yourself.”
Biran, who speaks Spanish, said dialect differences led to a language barrier she wasn’t completely expecting.
“I used the translators, of course,” she said. “But also, I would look at the eyes, their expressions, to make sure they were feeling comfortable.
“Some of them were scared of the dentist, so I used a lot of their visual cues to know if they were stressed, in pain or if something else was bothering them. You want to make sure the patients are at ease — that’s important. So, we were always watching to make sure the patients were not in distress, and perhaps didn’t want to say anything, because they were worried about not getting care.”
Dr. Williamson and three dental students – Biran, Payton Alber and Erin Alexander — made 12 sets of dentures, as well as provided routine fillings, root canals, extractions and other procedures.
Experiences like mission trips are important at the college level, Dr. Williamson said.
“We do so much training in the specialty of dentistry, but the type of lessons you learn by volunteering can’t be learned inside the walls of a dental school.As educators, we need to instill in our students the desire to give back, and to continue to volunteer after they leave. That’s why university involvement in these types of efforts is essential, because early career experiences shape people differently.”
An internationally trained dentist, Biran chose to come to UNMC for her DDS in part because of the college’s many volunteer opportunities, including overseas mission trips.
“It’s great to leave your comfort zone, see what is out there, treat different cultures,” she said. “Sometimes we get caught in our little bubble. On this particular trip, we learned a bit about their culture, about what is important to them. Once you know their culture, it’s easier to communicate and engage with them, to know what to expect from them and what they expect from you. It’s a valuable opportunity to learn important lessons.”
For example, Alexander was fascinated to learn about the “tooth mouse,” the Dominican Republic’s version of the tooth fairy, who takes teeth from under the pillow and gives stronger teeth in return.
“We learned so much from the local people that we served,” Alexander said. “It’s so rewarding being able to get someone out of pain and give them a new smile. I can’t wait to go back.”
Teamwork was key, as the UNMC volunteers worked with dentists, hygienists and physicians around the U.S. and Dominican Republic.
“Teamwork was emphasized, as we had multiple dentists working on the same patient in their strength area. Health care, especially in a mission setting, is all about working as a team to ensure best outcomes.”
Meanwhile, volunteers kept the teams going with local cuisine and lots of coffee.
“They welcomed us with open arms despite the language barrier,” Alexander said.
Alber said the weeklong trip changed her as a dental student and a person, giving her “the opportunity to challenge myself as a future provider by working in unique circumstances, overcoming language barriers and seeing a wide range of patient needs.”
After returning to Lincoln, she said, she “can already see the improvements in efficiency and independence when it comes to patient care. On top of the many benefits clinically, personally getting to take part in, not only the care, but the culture of the patients we were treating, has given me a new perspective and gratitude.”