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12 FALLFALL12Sayena Faraji (L) and Kim NguyenDental Hygiene Students—Fillinga Need, Enriching Their LearningFor two and a half days, a community health unit bustled withpeople. In the front hall, patients were triaged and volunteerdental students and supervising dentists treated patients’ oralhealth needs.And, in an office, with one dental chair, twovolunteer dental hygiene students werestationed. For Kim Nguyen and Sayena Faraji,second- and third-year dental hygiene studentsrespectively, this was the highlight of theirschool year.“We were perhaps the busiest volunteers,”says Sayena, a second-time volunteer on theannual trip to serve west-coast First Nationcommunities. “After triage and assessment, thepeople came to us for dental hygiene care—wetreated over 70 people.”In 2010 and 2011, UBC Dentistry alumni,student volunteers and faculty membersvolunteered at a clinic for the Penelakut FirstNation on Penelakut Island, located east ofChemainus. This past July, the volunteer clinicmoved to Chemainus, on Vancouver Island.The change of location allowed the clinic toserve a greater number of First Nations groupsthrough H’ulh-etun Health Society. Not onlythe Penelakut, but also the Halalt, Lyacksonand Malahat First Nations were able to accessthe clinic’s basic restorative and preventivedentistry services, including simpleendodontic work, extractions and scaling.“It was my first time,” says Kim, “and the pacepicked up fast.” At first she found it nervewrackingto have to complete a patient’s careevery hour. She also worried about her skilllevel, but quickly credits Cathy Chatten,a volunteer dental hygienist, with providingexcellent guidance.Both Kim and Sayena had “wow” moments.Sayena gained insight into changing the wayeducation of the patient is done—basically,adapting the information and how it is given,within a holistic context, to suit the individualpatient. “You take into account their history andyou gain a sensitivity to delivering informationso it’s not so top-down. You deliver it in a waythat can be processed by the patient.”Along with doing actual procedures, Kimfound the experience “really eye opening”because of the range of patients, fromnine-year-olds to 60-year-olds. Hearingpatients’ life stories significantly broadenedher outlook on the uniqueness of each andevery patient. The patients were also veryappreciative of her work, which made theexperience particularly rewarding.On campus, the focus is on the protocolsof the clinic, but valuable perspectives thatcontinue after graduation are learned throughworking in the community. “It makes you awell-rounded future health professional—youknow what’s out there beyond a clinicalpractice setting,” says Sayena, who would liketo pursue a master’s degree in public health.“People think that once you graduate all you dois go into clinical practice, but there are somany more opportunities in the community.”Likewise, Kim has enjoyed working withpeople who do not have access to primary careand sees herself branching off from ordinaryclinic work. And she plans to continuevolunteering at clinics during her next twoyears of school.Both agree that all dental hygiene studentswould benefit from this volunteer experience—especially from working with dental students,observing and assisting with suctioning. “Wesaw a lot of procedures like restorations andendodontics, and they needed us to performlocal anaesthetics,” Sayena says. She noted thatthere is a lot of need for primary care duringa volunteer clinic, so more dental hygienevolunteers would be very welcome.Kim and Sayena have encouraging advice forfuture volunteer dental hygiene students: stepout of your comfort zone, try new things,don’t be scared to ask questions because thereis always help at hand, don’t worry about skilllevel, and above all, enjoy the experience.The Chemainus volunteer clinic is madepossible with support of the Rotary Club ofChemainus, the Rotary Club of Steveston andthe Dental Mission Project Society. “AdoptiveRotary parents” hosted volunteers in theirhomes. For a full list of volunteers, please see the“Thank You” page in this issue of Impressions.Mellissa MilliganKathryn Hunter“After screening 50 children underthe age of five in one morning, youstart understanding what to lookfor, what’s normal, what’s not.”– Kathryn Hunter, DMD studentGroup Mission to Colombia—An Outstanding Experience forDental StudentsIn April 2012, then DMD 2012 candidatesMelissa Milligan and Kathryn Hunter travelledto South America, where they joined studentsand dentists from the University of SouthernCalifornia Faculty of Dentistry. The USC facultyoffers a volunteer dental program incollaboration with Ayuda Inc., a not-for-profitorganization focused on providing free dentalcare to underserved communities. This was thesecond year that the Sinclair Travel FellowshipProgram supported the UBC Dentistryfourth-year travel elective.The team travelled to Cartagena, Colombia,where they treated 845 patients in a localbarrio of 13,000 people. The high level oforganization and teamwork, and the specialfocus on young patients and their dentalproblems, were particularly meaningful for thetwo UBC students.“After screening 50 children under the age of fivein one morning, you start understanding whatto look for, what’s normal, what’s not,” saysKathryn, who shared that during her trainingat UBC she was uncomfortable with havinga young child cry in the chair. “It just wasn’tsomething that I thought was a part of dentistry,and my first instinct was to have someone elsetake over,” she says, and noted that at the UBCclinic child patients are usually age five and older.For four hours on one day in Cartagena,Kathryn gave children needles to anaesthetizethem before starting their dental treatment.“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cryingchildren. At first I thought they’d all hate me.”However, Kathryn learned a valuable lesson thatday: even when kids are crying, they still needhelp to clear their mouths of disease, and in theend, no matter how much they dislike it at thetime, they are grateful. Her most touchingmoment, among many hugs, kisses andarticulations of gracias, was a huge smile and awave from a boy she was convinced hated herbecause he had screamed during his treatment.“I was ecstatic!” she recalls.“The triage system developed by the groupallowed for patients to be seen in a timely andorderly manner,” says Melissa. She and Kathrynworked triage on their last day, and Melissacredits this system for their efficiency. Anotherhighlight for her was working with radiologyand learning how to use the NOMAD handheld,portable X-ray machine. Melissa alsogained more experience with atraumaticrestorative treatment (ART) and extractions.“Working with the Ayuda team was anoutstanding experience. Everyone had a key roleto play and felt supported by their colleagues.This meant we all had the opportunity toenhance and expand our dental skills andcomfort zones in the clinic.”For Melissa, a passion for combininghumanitarian acts and travel has beenpercolating throughout dental school. Herexperience in Colombia could be just the tip ofthe iceberg—she hopes to work with the Ayudagroup again. She is excited, she says, by howsuch a large group of people could organizethemselves into an efficient, temporary dentalclinic to support a community in need.26 UBC DENTISTRY IMPRESSIONSUBC DENTISTRY IMPRESSIONS 27
12 FALLFALL12An Unexpected Turn ofEvents—A Look Backin GratitudeIn the summ er of 1968, Dr. Russell Yamadareceived a telegram that for all intents andpurposes changed the direction of his life.This was during the height of the VietnamWar. Yamada had just graduated from OregonState University and had applied to theirdental school—dentistry and medicine weretwo areas of study that offered draftexemptions—but he was not accepted.Recalling that his grandfather had emigratedfrom Japan to New Westminster, BC, in 1898was enough inducement for Yamada to thenapply to the UBC Faculty of Dentistry.When he did not get any response from UBC,Yamada pursued other options, and in July of1968 was accepted to attend US Naval OfficerCandidate School. His orders were to reportto Newport, Rhode Island, on August 27,1968—where he would have trained alongsideformer US presidential candidate John Kerry.In refocusing his energy on a naval career,Yamada had put himself just a few monthsaway from possible battlefield duty.On August 1, 1968, however, Yamada receivedhis first ever Western Union telegram. It read,“Pleased to inform you application foradmission approved. Wire $100 depositimmediately. Further instructions tofollow when postal strike settled.Signed: S Wah Leung, Dean, Faculty ofDentistry UBC.”At first, Yamada was wary, not sure he couldbelieve the telegram. But when his admissionwas verified, he went into shock—suddenly acompletely different life path than the one hewas about to assume with the US Navy hadopened up.The impact of that one short telegram onYamada’s life was far-reaching. Not only didUBC Dentistry provide him with theeducation for a profession that he stillpractices 41 years later, but while at UBC healso made several lifelong friends and methis wife Sylvia.Yamada wishes that he had expressed hisgratitude more when former Dentistry deanLeung was alive. So now, in Leung’s honour,Yamada would like to thank UBC Dentistry.“I am grateful for all that this profession hasoffered me, and the UBC Faculty of Dentistryhad a great deal to do with this. I was inspiredto make a gift for the new graduate clinic andfor ongoing dental education because of thegift dean S. Wah Leung and the Faculty ofDentistry gave to me: an opportunity to studydentistry at UBC.”The new graduate clinic will be completed inearly 2013 and will house 20 new operatories,a digital learning centre, patient consultationrooms and seminar space. There are severalnaming opportunities in support of the newclinic. To find out more, contact the UBCDentistry Development team at dentistry.development@ubc.ca.RecognizingThose Who Makea Difference inOur LivesRecognition can be given in many differentways. Drs. Rokshana and KhozemaChherawala—known for their generosity andkindness, not only with their patients, but alsowith their staff—stepped forward this past yearto generously support the extensive renovationproject in the John B. Macdonald Building(JBM)—and to honour their hard-workingstaff members. In addition to supporting thenaming of one of the new conference rooms,the Chherawalas decided to make a secondarygift, “adopting an op” (operatory) in the NobelBiocare Oral Health Centre. And they decidedto recognize the people who directly contributeto the operation and day-to-day success oftheir busy practices in Maple Ridge and PortCoquitlam by putting their names on thededication plaque located in Operatory 10.8.In October, the Chherawalas invited theirdental office workers to the official unveilingof the new Chherawala Conference Room inthe JBM—but then, to the surprise of theinvited staff members, each was handed a pairof gold scissors with which to cut the ribbonon their newly dedicated operatory.“I felt extremely proud and wasso touched to be included onthis dedication,”says Julie Parkes, who has been theChherawalas’ office manager for 11 years.A mother’s love and compassion was honouredwhen Dr. Mahsa Soraya dedicated newly builtconference room 270A to her mother Homa. Itwas her mother’s commitment and passion foreducation and knowledge that inspired Dr.Soraya to surprise her family with theconference room dedication. This past October,family members and close friends were invitedto an afternoon tea to inaugurate the facility.The celebration was a wonderful opportunityfor UBC Dentistry to recognize Dr. Soraya andher husband Dr. Alex Galo, both UBCDentistry alumni from the Class of 1991, fortheir commitment to helping provide thisinteractive and dynamic learning space forDentistry students.Dr. Soraya’s commitment to students alsoextends to her role as one of over 300 UBCDentistry part-time faculty members—dentalprofessionals who often give up practice orpersonal time to fill roles as clinical instructors,clinical educators, small-group-learning tutorsand community service tutors.To learn more about how to support theJBM Renovation Fund, or to become apart-time faculty member or volunteer forthe Volunteer Community Clinic Program,contact Jane Merling at 604-822-5886 ormerling@dentistry.ubc.ca.201450 years CELEBRATE WITH USMAKE IT COUNTCongratulations to alumnus Dr. Jerry Jacob from the Class of 1996 for “adopting” the first study carrel in the newlyrenovated Graduate Student Commons.With your gift of $5,000, you too can help support a new study carrel for a graduate student in endodontics,orthodontics, pediatrics, periodontics or prosthodontics.To learn more, contact Nik Williams-Walshe at 604-822-6808 or nww@dentistry.ubc.caPHOTOS BY TIFFANY COOPER, TERRY WINTONYK28 UBC DENTISTRY IMPRESSIONSUBC DENTISTRY IMPRESSIONS 29
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