Academy of LDS Dentists

Under the leadership of Area President Don Clarke and Welfare Services missionary, Dr. Dean Bawden, the LDS Church has funded a 5-operatory dental clinic next to an orphanage in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The Academy of LDS Dentists participated in equipping, supplying, and constructing the facility. Thousands of orphans from the surrounding area and hundreds of missionaries and pre-missionaries will receive dental care there each year.
This modern modern clinic, complete with digital x-rays, is now in operation and volunteers are urgently needed to staff it for one week or more at a time. Dentists who fly down to Guatemala City to serve there can stay in a secure 4-5 star hotel for about US$100/night. There is transportation to and from the clinic from the hotel. A guide is available in case visitors would like to go sightseeing before or after the service.

Dr. Paul and Joanne Fillmore were called as full-time missionaries to work at the clinic with their service time starting in March of 2010. Dr. Ron Tobler and his wife Judy have also recently started as full-time missionaries there. The Academy hopes to provide English or Spanish speaking dentists to work in the clinic for the majority of weeks during the year. Student externs from a local dental school will work in the clinic and at the same time receive training. This clinic will touch many thousands of lives in the future, and should be one of our most effective projects ever. According to Elder Clarke: “With prospective missionaries it’s not just about teeth. It’s about enabeling people to have health to serve missions. It eliminates a stumbling block to their progress. It has doubled missionaries serving in this area from 1000 to 2000.”

For more information about being a volunteer for one or more weeks at the Guatemala City Clinic, or to be a future full-time dental missionary (Spanish-speaking ability is desired but not required), contact Dr. Jerry Summerhays (summerhaysgs@msn.com), 801 268-4436).

To help pay for equipment and supplies for the Guatemala clinic, please donate to the Academy Foundation Fund. Visit www.academyofldsdentists.com, click on “Donate to the Humanitarian Fund,” download, fill out, and send in the donation form to: Academy Foundation Fund, Attn: David N Wright, DMD, c/o Conferences & Workshops, 136 Harmon Continuing Education Building, Provo, Utah 84602

—————————————————————————————————————————-

Situation at the Guatemala City Dental Clinic as described by Sister Judy Tobler — wife of Dr. Ron Tobler –  both serving there for 18 months.

Dr. Ronald E. Tobler and I have been working at the dental clinic here in Guatemala City, Guatemala for six weeks.  The clinic is nicely built and is pleasant to work in.  We have a regular schedule
of patients.   On Monday mornings we see future missionaries from the Guatemala area.  On Monday afternoons we see girls from the Tio Juan orphanage.  On Tuesday and Thursday mornings we see missionaries from the local MTC (CCM).   Then in the afternoons on these two days we see boys from the Tio Juan Orphanage.  All day Wednesday we see orphanages.    Sister Fillmore sends a monthly report to Evan Roundy that list all of the patients and procedures that we have done for the week/month.

When we have visiting dentists and hygienists we are able to see many more patients.  Since we have been here we have had three dentists and one hygienist.   Of those three dentists, two were periodontist. Both periodontist were able to do special procedures that helped two
missionaries.  And of course the hygienist labors were of immense value.

Dr. Fillmore usually does legal work for the dental clinic on Fridays when we are not diagnosing at the CCM (MTC).   We have spent our Fridays trying to learn Spanish.  The Spanish is coming slowly, but we need to learn as much as we can to be able to help the clinic and the
branch that we work in.

I would like to make a comment concerning financial the supplies for the clinic:  Dr.  Fillmore is buying the supplies and sending in the receipts to, I believe, Evan Roundy.  He says very little about money, but I know that he does spend his own money to get what we need.  For the most part the clinic has a lot of supplies, but there is always a need for special supplies and materials.

Last week we started having dental students from a local dental school come in the afternoons.   Dr. Fillmore has organized the students and their patients.   The students see orphans from Tio Juan.  Dr. Fillmore has organized the situation so the students can pass off some of their requirements to graduate.  These students appear to be high quality people.   They seem to be serious about their dentistry. There are usually 3 students a day who come to the clinic.   Doctors Fillmore and Tobler supervise their work.

Last Saturday we saw 10 future missionaries from Momostenango.  We did almost all of their dental work.  They had to travel 4 hours to get to the clinic.   We worked on them all day and feed them lunch.  They were delightful.   They were appreciative and they even cleaned up after themselves.   A member of the stake presidency brought them to the clinic.   Elder and Sister Fillmore had gone to Momostenango to diagnose these future missionaries dental work.

This Friday we are going to the CCM (MTC) and diagnose the new missionaries that will have just arrived.   We do this every three weeks and then the three weeks that follow we complete their dental work.   Last time there were only 34 local missionaries that we saw.  Half of them needed work.   This time there will be 87 local missionaries at the CCM.  We are concerned about the numbers.   A dentist from Gilbert, Arizona is coming during the three week time period that we have to finish the new incoming missionaries.   Thank goodness!!!   That is a lot of work.

The number of future missionaries wanting to come to the clinic is increasing.  Yesterday, Monday morning, we were expecting two young elders from a neighboring town, two future missionaries from Guatemala City, and two senior missionaries that were having tooth aches.    But our mornings never go as planned.  Four elders and one sister came from the neighboring town and then a young future missionary that was supposed to come last week came also.   The reason the young elder could not come last week was he did not have enough money for the bus trip,   so we did not want to send he away.  And to make matters even worse, Dr. Tobler’s thumb was very swollen and sore (the doctor said he has gout) so all he could do was exams and X-rays. So you can see we are very busy.  Even if Dr. Tobler had been his usual healthy self it would have been too much work for the morning.   So we had to send the ones back that did not have appointments.   Sister Fillmore appointed them for a future day.   Right now we are booked 1 month in advance for these missionaries.

 I know that Dr. Tobler is not as efficient as he was when he worked in private practice.  Two of the reasons are we work out of one chair and I am his assistant.   There is a lot of difference between an experienced chair side assistant and an inexperienced wife.    Sister Fillmore and I have learned a lot. Personally I have a long way to go before I will be efficient.

Dr. Tobler saw a doctor for his thumb and he should be back to normal in a few days.   We thought gout was a disease for people who had horrible diets.   Ron is very careful with his diet. So that shoots that theory.

We are planning a trip on August 6th for Quetzaltenango to diagnose future missionaries in that city.   Then they will be appointed to come to our clinic in Guatemala City to complete all of their dental work.   That is when we work on Saturdays.   A dentist from here also helps us on those Saturdays.  His name is Eduard Contreras.  He is a member of the high counsel in the stake that we attend.  He seems to be a very good dentist and is willing to work with us on these very
busy days.

I will try to keep you informed weekly of our activities so that my emails will not be so long.   As you can see we are very busy.   And we need all of the visiting dentists we can get.

Hermana Tobler,   Guatemala Central Mission.  July, 2010.