Service

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Ramon Arguelles, dean of the public dental school in Honduras visited our conference August 2005. He is 2nd generation LDS. When Academy officers asked him how the Academy could best help his school, he asked us to help him academically. Basically he asked us to teach the teachers.

Rick Meyers, Academy counselor spent 3 weeks assessing the needs (He also obtained 40 new dental delivery systems from DCI. We thank DCI (Pelton and Crane.). Oral surgery training is already being provided by Gary Crawford, Creed Haymond, and Niles Herrod.

For periodontal training, Jerry Summerhays and 4 hygienists taught ultrasonics to dental students and treated the poor in May 2005. Jerry Summerhays and Craig Ririe, head of periodontics at Loma Linda Dental School, went down for a week in February 2006 for lectures and live surgeries with the periodontal instructors. Periodontist Craig Barney taught the teachers for a week in June 2006. Periodontists Jerry Summerhays and Robert Ferrell went to the dental school to teach the periodontal instructors December 8 to 16, 2006. Specific recommendations have been made how to improve periodontal education at the dental school.

The dean hopes to eventually establish a periodontal graduate department. Over 100 CDs of periodontal education materials will be given to the school by Loma Linda. It is planned that a Honduran periodonist will observe for one month the periodontal practices of Drs Summerhays and Ferrell and then later go to Loma Linda for 4 months of training at no cost. LDS Charities may fund a virtual classroom between Loma Linda Dental School and the university complex which includes the dental school. Digital periodontal textbooks are planned to be provided.

Call Jerry Summerhays, 801 268-4436 if you wish to help with periodontal education, especially if you have a Spanish background and teaching materials in Spanish.

The Honduran dean made four more requests:

1. Help him establish a quality prosthetics lab. Prosthodontist Mike Affleck and a laboratory technician Gary Grosclaude went to the dental school in Honduras December 8 to 16th, 2006 to teach over 20 prosthodontists and 2 lab technicians. It is planned to bring a prosthodontist and two Honduran laboratory technicians to the U.S. for a month training in Dr. Affleck's office and Gary's prosthetics lab. Mike is writing to dental lab owners for donations of lab equipment to be shipped to Honduras March 2007.

Dean Arguelles is in the yellow shirt in the middle. Except for 2 lab men the rest are all teachers from the periodontal and prosthetic departments. In December 2006 they devoted a whole week to studying and working with us. The inscription overhead says, "Education is the first necessity of the Republic."

More time was devoted to demonstrations in the clinic and in the laboratory than was devoted to lectures. The prosthetic professors did clinical and laboratory procedures together. They really appreciated doing rather than just talking.

If you wish to help with the Prosthetics Department or the Dental Laboratory, call Mike, 801 399-4162, for more information.

2. Could Gordon Christensen come teach in Honduras? During June 2008 Gordon Christensen and 4 Academy dentists hopefully will hold a two-day free dental conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

3. Teach rotary endodontics to students and faculty. Call Ross Sanford, 702-595-4240 CP, or 907-696-1666 H, for more information.

4. Teach modern general restorative dentistry. Teaching materials and a knowledge of Spanish would be helpful, but not essential. Call Gerald Summerhays, 801-268-4436 for more information. A general practice dentist with skills in this area is needed.