A Visit from the Dentists
By
I am always amazed at the kindness and generosity of the people who work with us at the Semillas de Amor children’s village. These are the people who keep our children healthy and thriving. Last week we had a visit from Kids International Dental Services. Medical and dental groups just don’t “show up” to help but planning for their visits take a least a year. Our group of dental professionals came the week before to look over how they wanted the clinic set up and the next Saturday they arrived, via chicken bus, and within minutes of arriving were working. Only one of our children has ever seen a dentist so I was not too sure what kind of response the kids would have. The kids acted as though this was one more party and the dental team were so kind and gentle with our kids. Barely a tear in the entire group of 32 kids and certainly no fear.
The dental team passed our kids’ teeth with flying colors. Not a cavity in any child. The team cleaned teeth, sealed permanent teeth (SO important), looked for any dental problems and taught the kids how to brush their teeth correctly. The dentists were very surprised to see how healthy the children’s teeth are, especially since they have had no dental care. However, what they have had is very little candy (sorry to all who bring candy but typically we adults get that :-D and we do appreciate the candy), and they brush three times a day. Twice a day they kids brush with a Sonicare tooth brush. We only have two tooth brushes but each child has their own tooth brush head.
A letter sent to me by Robert Renner, D.D.S, Founder of KIDS International Dental Services said this about his visit to Semillas de Amor Children’s Village:
Thank you for inviting the KIDS International Dental Services team to visit your orphanage and treat your children on August 21, 2010. All of our team members were extremely impressed with how Semillas de Amor is caring for all those children. Your concern, compassion and dedication to these orphans are outstanding and I believe should be a model for any orphanage in Guatemala. You mentioned that this was the first time your children have ever been seen by a dentist. Not surprisingly, with what you provide the children in terms of love and material goods dental disease was virtually non existent. This as many would think should be an aberration but what you provide to the children becomes the norm and should be replicated.
A huge thank you to the 29 member dental team from KIDS International Dental Services and a special thank you to Bob and Purobi for your dedication to your work and the Foundation. For more information on KIDS International Dental Services click HERE. This is an amazing foundation that works all over the world.
To keep the children of Semillas de Amor Children’s Village healthy and thriving, please click DONATE to make a donation to support our kids.
