By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (ANS -- February 13, 2015)
-- The concrete floor of this children’s center and church is dirty,
flies buzz in the air, and dogs wander among young and old who are drawn
by the offering of free dental care. Most of them have never seen a
dentist and don’t know how to brush their teeth.
Along the banks of the Tonle sap
River in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Vietnamese boat people tied their boats
many years ago and never left. They are undocumented immigrants rejected
by Cambodia and Vietnam, but they endure, stateless and powerless,
hauling food and supplies for their pigs and their families up and down
the steep banks.
A Vietnamese immigrant hauls pig feed down to his floating house along the Tonle Sap River
Many of these impoverished
people will need tooth extractions because their teeth are so badly
decayed or infected, and that can present challenges for Dr. Teru
Yamamoto, visiting from the U.S. with his wife Shari and a small team
invited by Dr. Paul Ai, founder of Vision Outreach International.
They hauled 250 pounds of
equipment from Orange County, California for the mission. “We have
limited care because we don’t have access to X-rays,” Dr. Yamamoto
notes. He will use composites to fill cavities rather than silver and he
tries to avoid surgery.
“We can supply clinically safe
dentistry with minimal supplies,” he says. Rather than bring
sterilization equipment, an old fashioned pressure cooker purchased
locally will sterilize his instruments. Linda Ungerland, a dental
hygienist, adds efficiency to the team by giving shots of anesthetic to
the patients and helping to pre-screen each patient’s condition with a
mother’s loving touch.
Operating without X-rays,
unwanted surprises sometimes present themselves. When Dr. Yamamoto
attempted Ruth Ai prays for a patient to gain a firm grip on one woman’s
tooth to extract it, the tooth simply crumbled into dust. At that
point, he’s in too far to turn back and must proceed with a more
difficult procedure.
Photo caption: A Vietnamese immigrant hauls pig feed down to his floating house along the Tonle Sap River
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