This February a crew of 22 brothers and sisters flew down to Honduras to begin work on a new dental clinic for the Taulebé rural medical center. The mayor of Taulebé approached the Society last October with the request to build this dental clinic. At first, we told him that although there was no doubt a need for such a dental clinic, we felt that there were perhaps greater medical needs in the community on which we should concentrate. We were picturing a clinic that would primarily be doing teeth cleaning and filling routine cavities.
So the dentist who was present explained that the need in rural Honduras was far different. Presently, the Taulebé clinic has a single dental chair situated in a room at the clinic. This one-chair dental office, staffed by a single dentist, covers the needs for 29 communities! In 2022, this dentist completed around 25,000 free dental procedures. However, this does not even begin to cover the actual needs of the community. Right now, the dental office primarily treats children and pregnant women. It also works on educating the community on dental hygiene.
“This is not just about filling cavities,” the dentist told us. She went on to explain that, because of hormonal changes, a high percentage of pregnant women end up with periodontal disease. If this is not treated, the resulting inflammation can spread into the blood stream and lead to complications such as premature births. Furthermore, an extremely high percentage of patients come in with one or more badly abscessed teeth. These infections can spread to other parts of the body, such as the heart. So the poor dental hygiene of much of these communities leads to other health problems.
Needless to say, she convinced us of the great need for this rural dental clinic. The new dental clinic we are building will at least triple the present capacity. Similar to the rural health clinics we have built, the government will staff the dental clinic with dentists once we have built it. The government will also furnish the dental chairs and needed supplies. The dental work will be provided for free to the community.
Kevin Brechbill led the work crew who had come from the U.S., half of whom had been to Honduras before. The Society also hired a Honduran engineer to oversee the project, as well as a Honduran construction crew. The Honduran crew worked alongside the U.S. team during the hot week of physical labor. The Honduran crew is continuing the work on the dental clinic and hopes to bring it to completion this summer or fall. One of the hired workers was a man recently released from jail, who was extremely grateful to be given a chance to work on the project. The brothers reached out to the construction supervisor to obtain a higher salary for this man so he can continue working and supporting his family.
With the surrounding communities receiving better dental care and extended dental education, we expect to see a noticeable reduction in the amount of tooth extractions the dentists will need to do. Presently, far too many of the dental patients come in only when a tooth is so badly infected that the tooth has to be pulled. Throughout the surrounding communities, it is common to see people with missing teeth.
The medical staff at the clinic enjoyed interacting with the team, and they remarked on the huge impact the dental clinic will have on the community. The mayor of Taulebé and his wife had a meal together with the team members and expressed their gratitude to them. This year, no one on the team got sick, and the energy level was high throughout the whole week. Much was accomplished and many of the team members’ eyes were opened to the ingenuity of the Honduran people to survive and make do with so little.
The mayor and people of Taulebé have extended their deep gratitude to those who have made this new dental clinic possible.
Julie Nyhoff de Valladares
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Honduras Donations