Congratulations Dr Michael Houk
Dr Mike Houk, Desana Board of Director and Dental Mission Leader, was presented a recognition award from his students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr Houk donates his time to teach dental students the 'real life' proceedures they will face once they graduate from Dental School. Dr Houk started a Dental Mission several years ago. Congratulations Mike..... we are all proud of you!
"Dr. Houk has been a great addition to the clinical faculty at UNMC. He takes the extra time it takes to truly teach on the clinic floor. His expert advice is always appreciated as well as his flowing and flawless hair. (see photo) He has also allowed many students to Participate in dental mission trips, which takes an enormous amount of planning and time on his behalf. We thank Dr. Houk for making education a priority in his career as a dentist."
Desana Dental Mission - Success!
Our annual dental mission to Peru took an extraordinarily positive step this year! We believe we have established a permanent home in Yanahuara, a small community near Urubamba, Peru in the Sacred Valley. Our whole emphasis this year was to provide long lasting, preventative and restorative care to these remarkable and loving people; most of whom are some of the most vulnerable people on earth.
Rather than simply extracting decayed and infected teeth, our emphasis was on preventative measures, such as fluoride varnish and dental sealants; plus the restoration of hundreds of decayed teeth with composite and glass ionomer fillings. Of course, there was still a great need for the removal of non-restorable and infected teeth. Of the astonishing number of 650 total treatment procedures accomplished, only 28% of these were extractions. We saw a great number of our patients from last year; plus many, many more.
Dental Mission March 2011
Three days in Yanahuara ..... An international team of dentists and volunteers lead by Dr Michael Houk (Siox Falls SD) touched the lives of hundreds of people in the Sacred Valley of Peru. This year's Desana Dental Mission really ran smoothly and the team was able to treat more people and perform more proceedures than last year. One of the biggest differences from last year's mission was the translators that Leander Hollings (www.mysmallhelp.org) had lined up. Having this group of people helping ease the fears of the patients allowed the team dental students to focus on the treatments. Our good friend Nelly Mejia from Cusco arranged much of the behind the scenes preperation. She lined up lunches for the workers, visited the communities to advertise the dental mission, was one of two people that could speak Quechuan. Our local friend and dentist Vladimir Oblitas was a huge help.... he helped Desana purchase additional dental equipment so we would have 6 operatories. Four for restoration and two for extractions. Vladi arranged for the clinic in Yanahuara, transported the equipment to the clinic, set it up, and took it back to Cusco to store until it is needed again. Vladi is part of Dentists without Borders and Desanan helps with their big campaign in July and August.
Dr Mike Houk will be posting his report on the dental mission soon. There were so many compliments on the way he ran the mission..... each patient was given the best possible care. His team of dentists provided dental care that will help these people for years to come. It was not about the speed.... it was about doing the right treatment. I know the people of Paucarbamba and Yanahuara appreciated what his team provided.
Dental Team Arrives
DentalTeam Arrives
Dr Mike Houk and his team of dental students arrived at the Cusco airport...... climbed on a bus and headed to the Sacred Valley to finalize the dental clinic that had been set up in the Dept of Health building in Yanahuara. Thanks to our friends Dr Vladimir Oblitas, Leander Hollings, and Nelly Meja, most of the prelim work had been done. Final arrangements of the operatories were completed so the group headed to Urubamba Central Market to purchase the last minute items needed for the dental mission. The dentists enjoyed a little sight seeing and were able to take a short ride on the mortorcycle taxis...... then the group dropped off the supplies at the clinic and returned to the hotel for a group dinner.
