Dental Health in Honduras

It is Tuesday, the last full day of clinic operations, and there are more than 180 people waiting for dental triage. The line runs the full length of the school building housing the dental clinic, then doubles back on itself. A few minutes ago, Dr. Lee Flinner, co-leader of the dental team, surveyed the line and reluctantly gave the word that we're already past capacity and no one else can be admitted for dental care today. It is only 9:20 am.

The dental and oral surgery clinic is the biggest and busiest on this mission, and for good reason. It is rare to meet anyone over thirty whose warm smile doesn't have at least one or two gaps, and I've watched more than a dozen men and women over fifty have the last of their teeth pulled -- as many as fifteen at a sitting -- because of tooth decay and gum disease. The surgeons are even extracting rotted baby teeth from five and six year olds.

Causes of the Crisis
There are specific reasons behind this region's oral health crisis. There is no fluoride in the water in and around San Marcos (tap water is completely untreated). The closest professional dental care is two hours away, in San Pedro Sula, and is simply beyond the means of the people who live here. Standards of oral hygiene are practically nonexistent, due to lack of both basic hygiene tools, such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, and proper instruction about how to care for teeth and gums, even when toothbrushes and toothpaste is limited.

Then there's the diet factor. Here, as in the United States and elsewhere, children and teens have developed the junk food and sugary drink habit. Even those waiting to have teeth extracted sit sipping sodas and frozen fruit drinks or sucking on lollipops. And without fluoridation or toothpaste, the results are devastating.

The Mission's Oral Care Work
Although the team performs hundreds of extractions a day (407 last Friday alone), any tooth that can be saved and restored is, and the hygienists work steadily to clean teeth that have not seen a toothbrush for years, or perhaps ever, and apply fluoride treatments to provide at least a measure of protection.

You can see before and after photos of a pretty typical composite restoration and a hygiene treatment, as well as non-graphic illustrations of an extensive oral surgery, at http://picasaweb.google.com/abrubacca/OralHealthCarePhotos.

Building a Long-term Solution
The old adage about teaching someone to fish instead of simply handing them a fish sandwich holds here. CURE International understands that the oral health crisis in Honduras can be stemmed only through aggressive education programs. For years, local CURE worker Rodrigo "Coto" Castillo has conducted oral health education classes in schools and communities throughout the area. This year, 24-year-old Cynthia Rápalo, a local high school social studies teacher, has joined this important effort. With instructional materials provided by CURE and mentoring from Koto, Cynthia will start by providing basic oral health education to her 317 students and then expand her efforts to a wider audience.

Thank you, Coto and Cynthia.