Successful week in Phang Nga

Our week in the Takua Pa District of Phang Nga Province has been going by very quickly. The Smiles on Wings dental team has worked diligently through 12-hour days to provide care for the students, staff, and surrounding members of this community.

From Monday, January 25th to Wednesday, January 27th:

Our team was able to provide care for 87 patients, performing

199 fillings

258 sealants

67 scalings

A special applause goes to Dr. John Kastendiek and his wonderful assistant Lori, who completed 110 fillings on 23 patients in one day.  (Yes, 110!!) Their efforts are much appreciated by the patients who were in great need of their services.  Dr. Patel took time out of his busy schedule of placing sealants and fillings to provide oral hygiene instructions to a group of students. His brushing demonstrations on our favorite donkey model were effective and our assistants got to practice their new skills of teaching others about dental health throughout the afternoon.

Blue and yellow day

Today is our third day in the clinic and each day the kids wear different colored shirts depending on the activity of the day. Yesterday was sports day and all had these wonderfully bright colored shirts, yellow, lime green, sky blue and pink!

At home we always joked with patients that if they lost a temporary or had a dental problem while away on vacation we could always set up a beach chair and take care of them! We were only able to bring down two dental chairs so we improvised with what the school had available. Well the beach chair actually works!! The kids are great and once settled into the chair we can do exams, sealants and hygiene. For most of the kids it is dental education that is most needed and having a regular team come to the school will benefit them all for years to come. The older children are a great help and are very interested in what we are doing and love to assist! They get the biggest kick out of hearing us try to pronounce the very difficult Thai words- I feel I have to scrunch up my face to make the sounds!

This morning I worked in the restorative section with Lori who is awesome and rises to the task no matter what challenges we may have- from a very ticklish patient to mechanical problems! We have plans to work until 8:30 pm for three days to try and accommodate everyone- all are so patient in waiting their turn and between the large screen TV and many drawing stations they pass the time. It has been a wonderful experience so far and appreciate all the help received by everyone!!

written by Dr. Susan A. Grimes, Vermont

Similan Islands

 

Several team members arrived in the Phang-nga Province on Saturday.  We took the opportunity to do some local sightseeing while waiting for the remainder of the SOW team to arrive.  The Similan Islands are a chain of nine islands located one hour west by speedboat.  The islands offered a spectacular playground having many options such as snorkeling, hiking, swimming, sunbathing and multiple photo-ops.  We also spotted some unique wildlife, such as fruit bats and marine life.  My favorite was the unicorn fish.  

This is my third mission to the Phang-nga province and am again thankful that I am able to bring my son along on the missions.  Bryce and I have enjoyed the island tour and bonding with the mission team.  Tomorrow we will continue working at the 35th King's Foundation School which was rebuilt after being demolished in the 2004 tsunami.   

Written by dental hygienist Bonnie Mougey - Bangkok, Thailand 

And we're back!

After several internet-less days and a few cold showers out of a bucket, I am back with plenty of updates!  The SOW team traveled 1500 kilometers south to the Phang-nga province of Thailand.  Before I tell you a little bit about what we are up to in the south, please take a minute to read our final stats from the northern mission. In four short days, our team was able to complete a tremendous amount of much needed dental treatment on the 1st-12th grade students of the 21st King's Foundation School in Mae Hong Son: 

Northern Mission Statistics, January 17-20, 2011

Total Patients - 143

Restorative Patients - 107

Hygiene Patients - 119

69 fillings on 33 patients

337 sealants on 94 patients

120 scalings

7 extractions 

We are now in the Takua Pa district of the Phang-nga province working diligently at the 35th King's Foundation School.  Two of the dentists from our northern team flew home to the states and we have been joined by Dr. Susan Grimes from Vermont as well as Dr. Atul Patel from California. Half of our group is lodging at a nearby hotel and the other half is staying at the principal's guest house on campus at the school.  Geckos and other creepy crawlers are making sure to follow the team members to wherever they have chosen to sleep!

Our new Smiles on Wings' team!

This is SOW's third visit to the 35th School and this leg of the mission is sponsored by a grant from the American Dental Association Foundation's Tsunami Reconstruction Fund.  The 35th School was completely destroyed by the 2004 tsunami and has been beautifully rebuilt.  The new facilities are built on much higher ground in case another disaster should occur.  The school offers boarding for 700 students and also has an additional 100 day students.   

Our dentists are busy treating the students from the school and will work late each night to treat youngsters from a local orphanage.  We are lucky to have the older students from the school help our team with all parts of the mission including: screening, registration, and assisting. Stay tuned to hear updates from our team as well as the student helpers!  Please feel free to leave comments about our mission or ask questions to our team members.  

~ Raina  

Goodbye Mae Hong Sorn

Fourth Day Stats (1/2 day):

46 sealants (8 patients)

15 fillings (7 patients)

30 scalings (cleanings) 1 extraction

The first half of our mission is complete!  We worked for four days at the 21st King's Foundation School in the Mae Hong Sorn province.  Our whole team feels very privileged to have worked with the students, teachers and local hospital staff.  Each person we met was incredibly kind and hospitable.  We ate like royalty each day at the school. The children were extremely grateful for the dental care they were received and were exceptionally  brave even during scary procedures such as fillings and extractions.  We were able to treat many children who would otherwise never see a dentist.  In addition to cleanings and fillings, the majority of the students received sealants for extra protection against cavities for the next several years.

Dr. John Savukinas and assistant Lori fill a young girl's cavities.

As a special goodbye activity our team threw an early Valentine's Day party for the 12-16 year old class in the first level of English.  The party began with dental trivia (to make sure they were paying attention all week!) and then we taught them how to make Valentine's Day cards and write special notes to each other.  The students loved cutting out hearts and creating beautiful, unique cards.  With a little encouragement it became obvious that they knew much more English than they let on.  They were teaching us how to spell their names in English!

Sam receives a special valentine from a student. 

I am very grateful to our Smiles on Wings team.  Each team member worked tirelessly each day to see as many patients as possible.  I am very lucky to have worked with such a dedicated, passionate and talented group of individuals.  Without volunteers such as themselves our organization would not be able to continue.  Thank you the January 2011 Northern Mission team!

On Sunday we will begin our mission in the Phang-nga province of Southern Thailand.  We will set up our clinic at the 35th King's Foundation School.  Please check in to hear stories from our new team!

Written by Raina Goldstein from Bethesda, MD, Executive Director, Smiles on Wings

A Stone's Throw From Burma

Third Day Stats:

25 scalings (cleanings)

108 sealants on 21 patients

27 fillings on 10 patients 

2 extractions 

We started today earlier then normal.  A special tour had been arranged for us to the Burmese border.  We first went to a local village clinic where our volunteer health technician, Aek, worked.  Today this village was having  a sports field day.  All the schools in the area were in costume and participated in a parade to a field where the children had competitions.  The parade was wonderful with colorful costumes and marching bands.

Children from different schools performing at the Sports Day Parade 

From there we traveled into the back country.  We traveled over a mountain and down the other side in the back of a pick-up truck. We traveled through several small villages with the houses built on stilts on the sides of cliffs.  We arrived at the Y in the river that separates Thailand from Burma.  We took a boat ride up the river to a small beach area where we got some incredible pictures of the river canyon.  The people in the village were very friendly and some spoke rather good English.

Dentists skipping rocks on the Salween River

After a stop for lunch we headed back to the school for a few hours of Dentistry on the school children.  The kids here are incredibly polite and very good patients.  Working on them is not difficult at all.

We finished the day with another great dinner and then a drive to the top of a local mountain where we visited a beautiful Pagoda and launched two floating lanterns.(I don't know the real name for these)

An amazing day leaving me exhausted but incredibly fulfilled.

Written by dentist, Keith Schmidt, from Bel Air, Maryland.

Day 2 at 21st King's Foundation School

       After arriving in Bangkok a few days ago, I've traveled to Northern Thailand with other members of the Smiles on Wings team to begin our work. Yesterday we got familiar with the facilities, staff and students at the 21st King's Foundation School just outside of Mae Sariang. Today we continued working hard in the clinic and treating as many patients as possible. Our dental team did some amazing work and saw a majority of the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The students were very well behaved and cooperated well with the dentists. We had a few criers, but often a Beanie Baby and some reassurance from Pan and the other Thai volunteers was enough to lessen their fears. I enjoyed interacting with the students and did my best to communicate--thankfully smiles and laughs go a long way. Among the scores of patients who have come into the clinic in the last two days, I've noticed some interesting personalities. The younger kids were delighted to play with coloring books and puzzles and had no problem taking my hand to lead them to see the dentist. They were also very excited to pick out a toothbrush at the end of their visit. The fourth and fifth graders were curious about the farang ("foreigners") visiting the school. Some of the students would stare at Raina and I while we worked and would look away when I caught their gaze. Other students practiced their English skills amidst giggles, never wanting to say too much.
        My favorite part of the day was seeing the students take interest in the books I brought from home to share with them. Usa mentioned that the kids always asked about where we are from, so my mom and I went to a local used book store and found several great picture books about Washington D.C.

I showed the books to the younger kids yesterday but all they understood was "Ah-mer-i-kaa." I was delighted to see some older kids pick up the books on their own today and learn about where we come from. I was also glad that some of the kids really seemed to enjoy the jump ropes and understood from Pan's explanation that this is a common activity among American schoolchildren. In fact, we couldn't have gotten through much of the day without our wonderful volunteer and translator, Pan.

Here is Pan's take on the day:


วันนี้เป็นวันที่สองของการปฏิบัติภารกิจของ Smiles on Wings

หลังจากที่เมื่อวานใช้ส่วนใหญ่ในช่วงเช้าไปกับการจัดเตรียมอุปกรณ์และสถานที่

วันนี้ทุกอย่างดูจะเข้าที่เข้าทางดีมาก เรียกได้ว่าทำงานกันอย่างไม่สะดุดเลยก็ว่าได้

นักเรียนชั้นป.3และป.4 เป็นคนไข้ของเราวันนี้

เป็นภาพที่น่ารักไปอีกแบบที่ได้เห็นนักเรียนแต่งตัวเป็นลูกเสือและเนตรนารี

ส่วนใหญ่มีฟันแท้กันแล้ว มีสองคนต้องเสียน้ำตาเพราะว่าฟันผุเป็นหลุมลึกและต้องอุด

แม้ในตอนแรกเด็กๆจะไม่คุ้นเคยกับชาวต่างชาติและตกใจที่เห็นคุ

ณหมอใส่แว่นตาไฟฉาย แต่คุณหมอฟันทุกคนใจดีและใจเย็นมาก

ในที่สุดแล้วสร้างรอยยิ้มให้กับเด็กๆทุกคนกันถ้วนหน้า กิจกรรมที่มีในวันนี้

นอกจากจากให้ระบายสี ต่อจิ๊กซอว์ ดูวีดีโอความรู้เรื่องสุขภาพฟัน

และการ์ตูนทอมแอนด์เจอรรี่แล้ว

ก็ยังมีการออกกำลังกระโดดเชือกเพื่อเรียกเหงื่อกันอีกด้วย

ดูเหมือนเด็กๆจะสนุกกันมาก

แพน จาก กรุงเทพ

Today was the second day of our Smiles on Wings mission. We spent most of yesterday’s morning setting up and organizing the patient flow, so today we worked very smoothly without wasting any time. Students from grade 3 and 4 were our patients for today. Some of them were in scout uniforms and they looked so adorable. Most of them have adult teeth. While waiting for the treatment, the students enjoyed painting, solving jigsaw puzzles, watching dental documentaries and animation, and jumping ropes. At first, they were not accustomed to meet foreigners and afraid of the loupes (magnifying glasses) with head lamp. The dentists and hygienists were treating them so kindly. At the end, the students received excellent treatment and left with big smiles.

Pan posing with students after they jumped rope

Written by: Sam Jacobs from Bethesda, Maryland and Pan Tima from Bangkok, Thailand

1st Day Mission (Hard at work)

Arrived this morning to setup the mobile clinic in a large gymnasium.  This school is a King's Foundation project
which is housing and teaching over 900 children.  Grade one through twelve are taught there. It  took about two hours to get things up and running.  We started with the younger children and accomplished finished work on children into third grade.  It was fun to look up and see all the activity going on around the room.  Aside from the restorative and preventive work, the coloring project and cartoons were bringing lots of smiles. There was a good deal of laughter about Tom and Jerry's antics even in a different language.

The weather is absolutely beautiful here with perfect conditions whether out hiking or inside working.  Foods are very interesting!  Never know if it will be too spicy until tasted.  One could never find better or more varied types of fruits.
Just so much to learn about our great big world-glad to be a small part of it.
 - Lori from Wisconsin

First Day Stats:

Hygiene: 27 Cleanings (Scalings) 

Restorative:  40 patients, 66 sealants, 24 fillings, 2 extractions

Ready to Work!

The Smiles on Wings team arrived to the town of Mae Sariang in Mae Hong Son Province of northern Thailand. We got to check out some pretty cool sights on the three hour drive from Chiang Mai.  We saw rock formations and pretty intense white water rapids on an unexpected hike in a national park.  Even in shorts and tank-tops the team impressively survived the steep hills and slippery rocks.  A few kilometers down the road we stopped at a pine tree forest and drank delicious fruit shakes.

Bright and early tomorrow morning the team will begin work at the 21 Rajaprajanugroh (King's Foundation) School.  Our amazing and eclectic team includes 16 Thai and American volunteers including 4 dentists, 1 hygienist, 2 dental assistants and 1 health technician.  We will set up our mobile dental clinic and provide treatment for the students and villagers for the next four days.  Make sure to stop by our blog tomorrow for pictures and stories of our first day at the school!

January 16 - 30 Mission Trip!

The team is busily packing!  On January 16th, Smiles on Wings will be traveling to Mae Saering in Northern Thailand and the Takua Pa District, Phang-nga Province of Southern Thailand! We wish them a safe flight and a successful trip!

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