New Hope Dental Clinic
In October of 2012, we opened a new branch of medical services at the New Hope Clinic: The New Hope Dental Clinic.
In Honduras, dental medical students are required to do 1 year of service in a qualified clinic. So, each October, a new dentist comes to Orica.
Pictured to the right is Dr. Maria Gonzales. Dr. Maria received her Dental training at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma Honduras (UNAH). She immediately jumped right in and has become a valuable part of our medical team.
When we first opened the dental clinic, we saw many patients who had already received multiple extractions. In some cases, they had removed the tooth themselves or it was done by individuals with no medical training.
After 5 years,we are now seeing that many people in the region are practicing better oral hygiene and the number of extractions has reduced. Educating the residents of the surrounding villages has been an ongoing effort by our medical team.
Left: Dr. Carlos Amado Giron Lozano, our first dentist, with Dr. C.L. Gary, a dentist from Florida.