February 3-20, 2011

(click images for respective mission photos)

This past February, 2011, Ecuadent Foundation traveled to Esmeraldas, Ecuador to conduct its annual dental and surgical mission trip. A total of 36 volunteers (16 dental / 20 medical) participated in this great effort. Children came from all over the country to be seen by our surgical team whereas our dental team saw mostly children from the Esmeraldas province.

Our teams also had the opportunity to visit a local orphanage in Emseraldas to donate much-needed children's clothing, school supplies and toys.

Thanks to all of our volunteers and contributors who helped make this mission such a success! The results are as follows:

Dental Mission Results

616 Children

Cleanings: 333
Fluoride Treatments: 253
Extractions: 254
Restorations: 309
Sealants: 787
Orthodontic Appliances: 15
Other: 20

Total Procedures: 1,971

Ecuadorian Naval dentists treated 67 patients

Medical Mission Resutls

41 Patients

Cleft Lip &/or Palate: 17
Fistula Repair: 5
Burn Scare Repair: 5
Keloid Removal: 4
Polydactyly/Syndactyly: 8
Others: 5

Total Procedures: 44

October 7-16, 2010

(click images for respective mission photos)

Ecuadent Foundation teamed up with Fortune Management's Platinum Circle group to conduct a volunteer dental mission in Esmeraldas Ecuador. Twenty one volunteers traveled from various parts of the U.S. to take part in this initiative. Though this was the group's first volunteer dental mission, it was indiscernable considering their great teamwork, work ethic and the volume of children they treated. Ecuadorian Naval dentists also joined the intitiative to support our cause.

A pediatrician traveled with the team and operated a small pediatric clinic. They examined/treated 182 children for various conditions (though primarily for dermatologically related problems).

Ecuadent provided a small surgical component (comprised of 10 volunteers) to this week-long volunteer initiative. Ecuadent's surgical team provided 25 surgical procedures for 19 children. Treatments included repair for cleft lip & palate, burn contractures, and other congenital deformities.

Dental Mission results (Platinum Circle Group)

718 Children

Cleanings: 480
Fluoride Treatments: 436
Extractions: 305
Restorations: 393
Sealants: 1299
Other: 57

Total Procedures: 2,970

The Ecuadorian Naval dentists treated an additional 181 children and provided a total of 591 dental procedures.

Medical Mission Results:

19 Children

Procedures:

Cleft Lip - 6
Cleft Palate - 11
Fistula Repair - 4
Rhinoplasty - 1
Partial Hypospadias & penile skin avulsion - 1
Neurofibroma - 1
Scar revision (z plasty & umbilical plasty) - 1

September 2-11, 2010

(click image for mission photos)

The Ecuadent Foundation, working with the Navy of Ecuador and Hospital San Vicente de Paúl, completed a Dental mission in the city of Pasaje (Province El Oro), Ecuador. A total of 837 patients were treated during the 5 clinical days of the mission. This was the first dental mission that Ecuadent conducted in Pasaje. The need for our services was great and our 19 volunteers worked long and hard to ensure that all the children triaged received the emergent dental care they required. The breakdown of the dental procedures performed are as follows:

Cleanings: 479
Fluoride Treatments: 475
Extractions: 261
Restorations: 407
Sealants: 805

Total Procedures: 2,427

February 4-13, 2010

(click image for mission photos)

The Ecuadent Foundation, working with the Navy of Ecuador and Hospital San Vicente de Paúl, completed a medical mission in the city of Pasaje (Province El Oro), Ecuador. A total of 53 patients were treated.

Ecuadent utilized three OR rooms at Pasaje’s hospital during the mission. An Ecuadent plastic surgeon occupied each one. Surgeons included: Dr. David Kung, Dr. Oliver Simmons, and Dr. Michael Christy.

Ecuadent also provided 55 speech therapy sessions for a total of 48 patients. Ms. Yanchuleff trained cleft lip and palate surgery patients and their parents with exercises that could be completed once the patients healed from surgery to improve their speech. She also counseled cleft lip and palate patients that were not candidates for surgery and she also saw several patients with other syndromes including Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.  

Ecuadent's volunteers also trained local nurses and physicians regarding neo-natal care as well post-operative care for cleft lip and palate patients.

A more detailed breakdown of the surgeries is below:

Cleft Lip: 14
Cleft Palate: 16
Frenulectomy: 2
Thyroglossal Duct Cyst: 1
Scar Revisions: 10
Periostoplasty: 1
Polydactyly: 4
Syndactyly: 3
Otoplasty: 2

(click images for mission photos)

In February 2009, Ecuadent traveled to the city of Esmeraldas in the northwest coastal region of Ecuador for our 19th year of mission work. Most of Esmeraldas’ inhabitants are of Afro-Ecuadorian origin. Until a road network was developed in the 1970s, Esmeraldas was accessible only by sea and, as a result, isolated from the rest of Ecuador. This isolation helped the Afro-Ecuadorians retain their vibrant culture, but also contributed to the region being politically, socially, and economically marginalized. Esmeraldas is now a major sea port and terminus of the Trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline but much of its population still lives in poverty and lacks access to affordable, quality healthcare.

Ecuadent’s dental and medical missions to Esmeraldas this year consisted of a team of 38 dedicated volunteers who brought treatment to over 1,000 impoverished children.

Over the course of five treatment days, our dental team treated 926 children and performed 2,435 procedures which included 377 varnish applications, 784 sealants, 298 extractions, 555 restorations, and 398 cleanings.

Our medical team performed 53 surgeries correcting debilitating deformities such as cleft lip, cleft palate, syndactyly and hernias. In addition, Ecuadent’s orthodontist treated an additional 33 patients, creating obturators for 8 children with cleft palates who were unsuitable for surgery.

Ecuadent was also able to distribute donations of toys, clothing, and school supplies to the impoverished families of the children we treated and to an orphanage in Esmeraldas.

(click images for mission photos)

In February 2008, Ecuadent traveled to the city of Esmeraldas in the northwest coastal region of Ecuador for our 18th year of mission work. Most of Esmeraldas’ inhabitants are of Afro-Ecuadorian origin. Until a road network was developed in the 1970s, Esmeraldas was accessible only by sea and, as a result, isolated from the rest of Ecuador. This isolation helped the Afro-Ecuadorians retain their vibrant culture, but also contributed to the region being politically, socially, and economically marginalized. Esmeraldas is now a major sea port and terminus of the Trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline but much of its population still lives in poverty and lacks access to affordable, quality healthcare.

This year the group consisted of 48 volunteers including plastic and general surgeons, an anesthesiologist, nurses, dentists, an oral surgeon, an orthodontist, dental hygienists, dental assistants, translators, and techs. 

The Ecuadent surgical team performed a total of 78 desperately needed surgical procedures. The surgeries were primarily on children with complications associated with cleft lip and palate, congenital abnormalities, and hernias.
The dental team saw 748 children and performed a total of 1,535 procedures - including 354 extractions, 56 orthodontic fittings, 706 restorative procedures, 434 fluoride treatments and cleanings and 156 sealants.

LOCATIONS OF PAST MISSIONS

• Riobamba: 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2003
• Valle del Chota: 1992
• Santo Domingo de los Colorados: 1993
• Latacunga: 1994, 1996
• Shell-Mera/Puyo: 1995
• Dayuma: 1995
• Ibarra: 1996
• Loja: 1997, 1998
• Patuca: 1997
• Manta: 1999
• Machala: 1999
• Cuenca: 2002
• Guayaquil: 2004, 2005
• Esmeraldas: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Pasaje: 2009, 2010