[Left to right] Fourth-year Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry students Bhuvan Aggarwal, Allissa Morrice, Bryan Kwak, Winnica Beltrano and Madison Chambers in Ecuador on a dental mission trip.
Dental mission to Ecuador learning experience for soon-to-be dentists
When Bryan Kwak was a UM undergraduate student, he sat in on a dental school info session that left a lasting impression.
Giving the presentation was Dr. Noriko Boorberg, associate professor of restorative dentistry at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. She told the group about the worldwide dental mission trips she took fourth-year students on.
The chance to see the world and treat patients at the same time piqued Kwak’s interest.
More than four years later, Kwak, now a dental student, and four classmates just returned from a trip to Ecuador led by Boorberg and clinical instructor Dr. Tom Colina.
“I’m in my fourth year now and being able to join Dr. Boorberg’s trip just felt unreal, and I’m very thankful and happy to be part of it,” Kwak said.
He was lucky because this was the first year a trip took place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The trip was organized through a Canadian charitable organization called Kindness in Action, which provides free dental services in countries around the world.
Fourth-year dentistry student Bryan Kwak took part in a dental mission trip to Ecuador.
Over four 12-hour days, the team from the UM dental college visited four communities in the rainforest. They performed more than 80 cleanings, nearly 170 fillings and more than 220 extractions.
Kwak said using the skills he learned over four years of dental training felt amazing.
“It felt like everything I did in dental school – all the sweat, effort and time I put in was worth it,” he said. “It felt pretty amazing and rewarding at the end. It was incredible seeing patients smile and be happy. It feels like I contributed to their life in some way.”
Madison Chambers, a fourth-year dental student who also made the trip, said it was a great way to end her dental school education.
“I would encourage other dental students to take part in a dental mission trip. It was probably the best moment of my dental school experience,” Chambers said. “Not only just for learning about dentistry, working with patients and becoming more confident in your skills, it’s something I want to do again going forward.”
The experience pushes students out of their comfort zones and forces them to adapt to new situations. For Kwak, the heat and humidity were a challenge because the makeshift clinics were set up outdoors.
“I definitely wasn’t ready for the weather, with temperatures around 28° C. Coming from cold weather to South America is something to get used to,” he said, adding that they coped by wearing shorts during the work days.
For Chambers, she had to adapt to not speaking the same language as her patients.
“It’s different if you can’t talk with a patient. You have to find other ways to make them feel comfortable and make them understand why you are doing that work for them,” Chambers said.
Like Kwak and Chambers, Boorberg went on her first dental mission trip in her final and fourth year of dental school. It also made a positive impact, so much so that this was her 17th dental mission.
“It changed my perspective about dentistry in developing countries and how truly blessed we are living in Canada,” she said. “I want my dentistry students to have the same experience – to give back globally to people in need, in our given profession.”
Chambers said the students had to help each other out in the clinic, and the trip helped her form a stronger relationship with her classmates.
“I know we will always be good friends and colleagues going forward,” she said. “It was nice to share the experience with everyone.”