ARCH Orthodontics Dental Assistant brings oral hygiene aid to Honduras

This past year Rebecca Horne of Attleboro, Mass., Certified Dental Assistant at ARCH Orthodontics based in Stoughton (Mass.), joined a team of volunteers who provided dental care and oral hygiene education to children in a disadvantaged village in Honduras as part of the Cape CARES project. A primary goal of the program is to educate children about the importance of dental health to help reduce the number of decayed, painful teeth as well as other dental issues.

Rebecca’s team spent most of their time in Danli east of Tegucigalpa, the capital city. The team included a dentist, hygienist, dental assistant, translator, and three general support personnel. She explains, “We spent a week in a school providing dental care to 113 students ages 4-18. The team did fillings, extractions, cleanings, and sealants. We learned that 60-70% of the students had never been to a dentist prior to Cape CARES visit.” David Jacobs, the team dentist and a Cape CARES Co-President, hopes the project can continue.

Cape CARES sends similar teams 8-10 times each year, providing free medical and dental services in remote locations where there is no access to ongoing dental and medical treatment. Each team spends one week at a site and can treat up to 700 individuals. Rebecca says, “Over the course of a year, we send three teams to each of our sites so we’re able to offer more effective follow-up care.”

Dr. Robert Chavez of ARCH Orthodontics says Rebecca is typical of his staff who are thoughtful, sensitive individuals who take pride in their work, whether in one of his seven offices or thousands of miles away in a remote village. “

Rebecca adds, “Members of the teams are from all walks of life but with one shared purpose: We offer friendship and develop a bond with the people in the villages we visit. Sometimes a smile or a hand on the shoulder of a sick or frightened person is the best way to show that we care. “ARCH Orthodontics has a long history of community service. Recently staff members volunteered at the Massasoit College community health day. A few months ago, the practice donated a supply of toothbrushes for an oral hygiene project in a remote Ugandan village. Also, Dr. Robert Chavez and Dr. Andrew Chase have long been active in Operation Smile that helps disadvantaged children with cleft palate and other oral deformities by providing them with free surgeries and dental care that they may not otherwise receive.

ARCH Orthodontics is the ‘Official Orthodontist of Miss Massachusetts.’ The practice has offices in Stoughton, Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, Hyde Park, Randolph and Westwood. Arch Orthodontics offers free initial consultation including digital photos and panoral x-rays. For more information, be sure to give our office or request an appointment today!

Tags: ARCH Orthodontics, Brockton MA orthodontist, Canton MA orthodontist, Cape CARES project, orthodontist Stoughton, volunteer dentistry