In March 2013, three dental professionals took a week-long leave from their comfortable, well-equipped dental office in 100 Mile House to provide free dental care in a small town in Peru.
Dentist Derek Wilden, dental hygienist Ivone McComb, dental assistant Debbie Dengel and her husband, Simon Dengel, who is a welder, volunteered their services to an Alberta humanitarian aid organization, Kindness in Action Service Society. They joined a group of 18 volunteers to the town of Urubamba, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
They paid all their own travel expenses, and with totes full of disposable dental supplies, the group set up a dental field unit in a building, which regularly functions as a preschool and health centre. Makeshift patient beds were fashioned from regular tables with sheets of sponge foam duct taped overtop.
Word of the free dental clinic spread quickly through the town and surrounding area and people crowded the waiting area by 8 a.m. the first day. As soon as the first table was assembled, it was put into use.
This was the beginning of a week of exhausting work and a large measure of satisfaction for the team in knowing they were making a difference for people who might otherwise never see a dentist.
Each day, more people than could be handled gathered at the make-shift clinic. Each was given a bib and quickly assessed by a triage crew. Their needs were written on the bib, which was handed to the dental professionals when their turn came.
The clinic was split into four main areas of expertise – dental hygiene, filling and restorative, extractions, and dentures, and all but the hygienists rotated stations daily.
Simon filled an important role as an instrument sterilizer. Because the usual steam sterilization equipment was not available, chemicals were used to clean dental instruments, and his station quickly became an entertainment spectacle for the town's children.
They crowded around the table, but concerned that chemical fumes might be harmful to his young audience, Simon set up a ring of chairs a safe distance away.
His work went beyond the sterilization unit and into the community washroom where he served as janitor and handyman. He also helped set up dental equipment, took care of trouble-shooting when the need arose, and manned the waiting area, armed with a water gun to deter the many dogs, which were attracted by the smells and activity. Spraying the dogs turned out to be another popular source of entertainment for the young people.
The dental crew treated young and old, with teeth in all states of decay, who had possibly never seen a dentist before.
A couple of dedicated interpreters did their best to explain procedures to the patients and calm their fears, and Ivone's mastery of Portuguese also helped break the language barrier.
Even so, for some of the youngsters, having their teeth worked on was still terrifying.
"Some things are universal, like kids and dentists," Derek says, adding there were many tears.
He notes there were many successes. He recounts one of his most memorable was a young boy who was too petrified to open his mouth for anaesthetic on the first day, but after seeing his sister have her teeth repaired, bravely returned the next morning.
"He asked to have the work done, but it had to be on his conditions," says Derek.
Known in 100 Mile House as having a good rapport with children, Derek made balloon animals for his young patients when he had a spare minute. Youngsters were also sent home with gifts of toothbrushes, small toys, clothing, school supplies and District of 100 Mile House lapel pins.
People were appreciative of the care they received, and while they didn't have much in the way of money or material goods, they showed their gratitude the best way they could.
“One woman brought me a roll of toilet paper as a thank you gift,” recounts Ivone, noting toilet paper was a rare find in bathrooms.
There were more patients than there was time to give, and at the end of each day, some people had to be sent home without having received the help they needed.
It was difficult for each member of the crew to leave the clinic at the end of the week, when they were replaced by another group of volunteers like themselves.
The next portion of their trip was for personal enjoyment and they took the opportunity to see some major sights.
The first trip was a visit to the familiar icon of Inca civilization – Machu Picchu. The site is located 2,430 metres above sea level, and after riding a train partway up the mountain, they chose to hike the last 10 kilometres along the Inca Trail.
It was a tough, steep, seven-hour climb that was interspersed with sightings of beautiful butterflies, snakes slithering across their narrow path and a breath-taking waterfall named Forever Young, where Debbie and Ivone each sprinkled ashes of their respective children, Jamie and Rachel, who had been taken from them as young adults.
The group reached Machu Picchu at the end of the day, with not enough time to explore, but returned by bus the next day for a more complete visit.
Next on their itinerary was a flight to the Amazon where they were greeted by monsoon-like rain that left a concerning layer of water on the runway. It was just a preview of the water-logged terrain they would encounter in the coming days.
The group travelled by river boat to their resort which struck them all as something out of an Indiana Jones movie, complete with thatched roof wooden huts for accommodation and scorpions and tarantulas that hid in dark corners.
It was their base for exploring the Amazon area which included a paddle up the river in a dugout canoe, accessed by a four-kilometre trek in rubber boots.
Another adventure took them on a hike through the jungle in thigh-high water. The worry of wading into a snake was justified, but it was back at the resort where they had their closest encounter.
While relaxing by the swimming pool after a long day of exploring, they were were taken by surprise by a huge snake that slithered into the pool in front of them, and swam across to the other side.
Frightening at the time, it was just another surreal experience to add to the many they had while in Peru, and something to laugh about later.
Each member of the group values each one of those experiences, and Derek says, "There aren't enough words to describe what it was like."
Debbie sums up the trip as life-changing, and Ivone says, "I feel blessed to have done it."