Copper Canyon Residents Benefit from GSDM Outreach Trip

Min Lynn DMD 10 and Grace La DMD 10 participated in an elective externship in the Copper Canyon region of Mexico as part of a team of eight people affiliated with Liga International – The Flying Doctors of Mercy. In addition to Lynn and La, the team included trip organizer Dr. Fred Kalinoff, a Venezuelan dentist, a US dentist, a translator, and two private pilots.

The outreach trip began on February 2 and lasted two weeks through February 15. The team started in El Fuerte, Mexico. After a few days spent there, they traveled approximately five hours by train to Urique, Mexico—a city in the valley of the world famous Copper Canyon. During their service, the group stayed in an American-owned hostel, the Entre Amigos hostel.

Upon arriving in Urique, the team used Dr. Kalinoff’s stored supplies to set up a temporary treatment center —in a facility smaller than the cafeteria of the Dental School. Since there was no electricity at times, the portable chairs—powered by an air compressor—and the headlights helped the volunteers maintain a high standard of care, despite the rural setting. The community made public announcements about the dental team arriving in Urique, which created a high demand for dental services. The team worked from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and focused on providing preventative care to children under age 13. The team also performed extractions on some adult patients and treated those native to the area, the Tarahumara Indians.

“Urique is a small city in the middle of a canyon,” said Min Lynn DMD 10. “This community will only see dentists coming into town about once a year at the most. The key is prevention. Since they don’t have a dentist, they aren’t aware of good oral health practices. I think it is very important to teach the locals, especially children, how to take care of themselves and their adult teeth.”