Dental Clinics in foreign countries

[blondie888]

I know that some people have volunteered abroad in a foreign clinic. I am personally interested in this as well because I am interested in issues such as global oral health and eventually doing volunteer dental work in foreign countries. So I was wondering, for people who go to foreign countries and are not part of some Dental Mission trip group or anything, what do you actually get to do in the dental clinics there? And what is beneficial about volunteering or shadowing a foreign clinic versus a dental clinic here in the U.S.?

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[KittySquared]

If you have past assisting experience, they might ask you to extract some teeth and whatnot. You'll get to do a lot of the things you never will here. The dentist(s) in charge may even give you some lessons on oral health education so that you can demonstrate to the locals on how to take care of their teeth. It gives you some good perspective on life i.e. the clothes on your back, AC, food to eat.

For some with naive misconceptions about how life is great as a dentist swimming in a pool of $$$, doing this will be something great to add to one's resume, which facilitates the process of getting into D-school. It's an eye opening experience which makes them realize that they're really just idiotic children who needs some growing up and that perhaps it's not a bad idea to actually do something meaningful for humanity, like helping the under-served.

For others, they're thankful that they aren't these unfortunate people living below poverty line and had never seen a toothbrush. They continue to hold on to their misconception and continue to desire dental school just for the $$$ cause $$$ can obviously buy you happiness. And a bunch of these people will succeed and become dentists