Dental Care in Guatemala

Kristen Zapata

July 3, 2019

According to The World Factbook, a site managed by the Central Intelligence Agency, over 50% of the Guatemalan population live below the national poverty line, with about 23% experiencing extreme poverty. With so many families struggling to meet their basic needs, oral healthcare is far from a priority and tooth decay is a massive problem throughout the country. Thanks to the efforts of the Open Wide Foundation, hope and health is now a possibility.

The week of June 10th, Dr. Ahmed Sabbah, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, lead a troop of seven other volunteers on a humanitarian dental trip in Guatemala. Dr. Sabbah traveled with new graduates, Drs. Heather Burbick, Jesica Ejesieme, Rebeca Garcia, Mahmoud Irannezhad, Taylor Reece, Dr. Jeff Hicks, Professor/Clinical in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry, and Dr. Joseph Burbick, a Chicago dentist and Dr. Heather Burbick’s father.

The team journeyed to the city of Peronia to volunteer at the Open Wide Foundation’s first clinic, situated in the higher elevation foothills approximately one-hour southwest of Guatemala City. During their visit, Dr. Sabbah and his team helped treat 118 patients at Peronia clinic, conducting a combination of 305 procedures including preventative, restorative, endodontic, periodontic and oral surgical care.

_{“Being able to go back to Guatemala after 5 years and seeing the growth of the clinic and the influence it has had on the community was eye opening. Patients are retaining their teeth longer and receiving restorations instead of extractions. The patients were very thankful and appreciative of all the care provided. I was especially proud of the quality of dentistry our recent graduates provided. They were an excellent representation of our school and showed why our clinical care program is among the best in the nation.” – Dr. Ahmed Sabbah}

The Open Wide Foundation, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, creates partnerships in local governments to setup locally sustainable dental clinics in underserved parts of the world where limited or no access to dental care exists. In fact, the foundation’s website reports that before their Peronia clinic, no trained dentists existed in the city.

Part of the sustainability model includes dedicated volunteers. Since the Peronia clinic’s opening in January of 2012, their dental volunteers (dentists, dental hygienists and assistants) have treated over 200,000 patients and have opened 7 new clinics. In 2014, Dr. Jeff Hicks led the first mission trip to Peronia. The team was composed of a group of U.S. dentists and Dr. Sabbah, who at the time was an AEGD resident. These volunteers treated developmentally disabled, special needs and hemophilia patients at the clinic.

This was the first ever effort to treat special needs in Guatemala. The results of the trip were published in a 2015 article in Special Care in Dentistry titled: “Foreign Service special care opportunity in SCDA”. Dr. Hicks has continued leading teams annually composed of 2nd year AEGD residents and faculty treating special needs populations in Guatemala. This September will mark the 6th special needs trip to Guatemala.