Trip to China

In October of 2009, we have a third trip planned for a dental humanitarian project to Suqian, China. This is a small city (by China standards) northwest of Nanjing without an airport or train station. Twenty-three people will go including 13 dentists (7 of whom speak Mandarin Chinese), 1 physician, 3 hygienists, a CRNA, and other support personnel. Some participants who are going went last year and the year before but are still looking forward to doing it again. The local people are so welcoming and accommodating. The president of the dental hospital literally turns 6-7 operatories over to us for the week we are there. We get to work in modern (well, mostly modern) facilities treating people who just don’t normally get treated – orphans and the elderly from nearby nursing homes. We do restorative, simple endo, oral surgery, and hygiene. We also teach mini-courses to local dentists and do a lot of public relations among the local population. Dr. Geoff Williams, our plastic surgeon, and our CRNA will perform 8-10 cleft lip/palate surgeries on babies. We leave on a Friday night and return nine days later on a Sunday afternoon. It’s a great cultural and professional experience. Call Dr. Karl Koerner (801-502-8585, email drkoerner@q.com) or Dr. Adam Hodges (208-316-2307, ahodges@fhsid.com) with any questions.