In order to facilitate peoples’ decision to join
the mission clinic in Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo, I
have prepared the following information in hopes it will answer
questions that most interested people have asked. Of course, I
am available to answer anything that is not sufficiently covered
here.
General comments about the projects
The Projects. Until February, 2023, there was only
one clinic, that being in Cabo San Lucas. Through a lengthy
process, another clinic was built in San Jose del Cabo and it
was launched on February 16, 2023. Each has its own unique pros
and cons, most of which can only be determined by participants.
I will not try to influence your choices, but as of February,
2023, these are my thoughts, which I write as objectively as I
can:
Cabo San Lucas clinic: This clinic has been
running since May, 2016. It is in a
(see below). It is a small, three-chair
clinic that is
volunteers on any given
San Jose del Cabo clinic: Significantly larger,
this clinic has four dental chairs
space. Like the CSL clinic, it is also
set up to do
(about 45-60 minutes)
I will be pushing for a schedule that will include
both clinics—two days at CSL and then two days at SJdC so
that each volunteer can determine if there is a preference for
future visits. This remains to be determined, though.
Schedule. The project runs for one week. The usual schedule
is to arrive on a Wednesday, work Thursday and Friday, have the
weekend off, work Monday and Tuesday and return that evening or
the following day. The reason for this arrangement is so that
the volunteers, who are coming to Los Cabos on a “busman’s
holiday” can have some leisure time to enjoy some of the many
things the area has to offer. Others may choose to arrive on a
weekend, work M-T, take Wednesday off, work Th-F and return home
on the following weekend. The advantage here is that one fewer
workday (from your own office) would be missed in your own
practice. Once you are leading a group, you can determine which
schedule works best for you.
Times to come. The best times to come are when you
are able to be there! That said, there are times that are not
good. Among them: Easter time, since it is a holiday
in Mexico, too and families may have other activities; summer,
because it is quite hot here and school is out, which seems like
the perfect time to have a dental appointment, but doesn’t work
out that way; September, because it is hurricane season;
December, for obvious reasons.
The best way to determine a date is to contact
Christie Lee (see contact info below) to ask if a group has
already been formed and if you can join it. If you are leading a
group, again, contact Christie to make sure the dates you want
are not already taken. Efforts are made to set up dates a year
in advance.
Safety. Safety in Mexico is an issue that always comes
up. If there were ever a time that I, personally, felt that it
could be unsafe to travel to Cabo I would cancel the trip. I
have been to Mexico more than 90 times in many locations and
have never felt threatened. Needless to say, this is a personal
choice by anyone choosing to support the project, but I would
like to suggest that safety NOT be a major factor in the
decision.
Housing. As of February, 2023, dental volunteers are being
provided with housing at the RIU Palace Resort. Website: (https://www.riu.com/en/hotel/mexico/los-cabos/hotel-riu-palace-cabo-san-lucas/index.jsp?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHIj7C-ZI803MgViO5Zkubn3Y9B2mmxyczr_MFJ6FKZceFcC7SvDfVhoC3kYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
It is a stunningly lovely resort that provides ALL
INCLUSIVE benefits for up to six volunteers. This means all
meals and all drinks are provided for free. Please note that
ONLY the dental professionals are eligible for this! If you
choose to bring family members, you must find your own housing.
This is a significant upgrade from the previous housing
arrangements and can make a major impact on the expenses (see
below) for volunteers.
Expenses. As mentioned above, between the RIU Palace Resort
and lunches on clinic days, all meals are provided.
The choice to go to a restaurant is, of course, always yours and
that is at your own expense. The
volunteer pays for airfare, and any activities you choose. There
are no funds available to support volunteers although former
volunteers have solicited funds from various sources (friends,
service clubs, churches, dental supply companies, etc.). Some
teams have also approached practices to which they refer
patients (orthodontic, oral surgery, etc) and had excellent
results getting donations. If you approach them with the fact
that you are doing a mission dental project in Mexico, you may
find that they might help with finances.
Licensing/malpractice. Initially it was related that all
dentists must have a current license from your home state.
Previously this had to be provided to the ADLN, but it has been
a while since that request was made. No malpractice is
necessary. There are local dentists who sponsor our work and
Mexicans are not litigious people, particularly in the
population we help.
Supplies. The clinics are well stocked, which include local
and topical anesthetic, filling materials, sealant materials,
etching and bonding supplies, gloves, masks, needles, cotton
goods, etc. I would ask that you consider donating some of these
items since the Cabo project is coordinated by a non-profit
organization that is constantly counting every peso.
Alternatively, you could also make a deductible cash donation to
the non-profit. What you need to
bring: Loupes, only if you normally
use them, gloves, (we have a fairly
good supply in S-M-L, mostly in non-latex, but bringing some
helps the supply in the clinics) and masks, (we have
both cup-style, as well as over-the-ear). In other words, you
don't really have to bring anything if you are flexible enough
to use the gloves and masks we already have. However,
bringing at least one box of gloves is very helpful as keeping
an inventory that pleases everyone can be challenging!
Clinic attire. There has been considerable variation
on the clinic attire. I have always worn short-sleeve scrubs,
but other groups have worn T-shirts (some occasionally decorated
or with their office logo, etc) while others have brought
disposable lab coats. If you are coming in any warm months, it
is advisable to bring short sleeves. The CSL clinic has
air-conditioning but with so many bodies in a small space in the
summertime, it can still get hot. Laundry services are available
so that washable clothing can be laundered over the weekend
between clinic sessions.
Spanish. If you know Spanish, it is very helpful. If not,
local volunteers can help. I have a dental Spanish vocabulary
sheet (including vital phrases) so that you can at least have
some of the basics before you go. Ability or knowledge with the
language should not be a major consideration but having at least
one or more on the team who speak it well is extremely helpful.
The employees at the Amigos de los Niños are NOT dental
professionals and may not be able to convey the information in
the exact why you might wish. However, nearly all
volunteers who have gone on the project have said they wished
they had learned more Spanish before they went. You can
access the dental Spanish vocabulary sheet at the Dental Spanish link. I strongly suggest you
learn these phrases as a minimum to enhance your own experience.
Breadth of care. The project provides comprehensive
pediatric dental care for Mexican children who literally have no
other hope for care. This is not an extractions-only type of
project. While some extractions are necessary, they are not the
focus. Because the clinic functions several times per
year, it has the unique possibility of ongoing care for the
children. Over the years of its existence, the project has
completed treatment plans for many children so that these
patients come in for what you might call a "routine checkup."
This is important to know, as some volunteers have expressed
surprise or disappointment that more restorative care isn't
done. I am very proud of the fact that this project, unlike
others, functions in a way similar to an actual dental
practice. For those of you whose focus is doing as much
restorative care as possible, it may not be the
perfect fit. The current biggest obstacle to
providing the same level of care that we can in the U.S. is lack
of x-rays. It is not difficult to find teeth in need of
treatment without them. We do prophies, fluoride, sealants,
composite restorations, glass ionomers, stainless steel crowns
and pulpotomies. We do not provide space
maintenance.
History of the Cabo Project
The Cabo project began the year after an initial
success with a similar program in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Cabo San
Lucas (CSL) has been my family’s primary vacation destination
since 1993 (when it was quite different than it is now) because
of the predictability of sunshine (360 days per year) and its
dry climate, which for those of us from the Pacific Northwest is
a big deal!
I got in touch with the executive director of the
Amigos de los Niños, (ADLN) a non-profit group in CSL. It is a
medical organization that coordinates with American physicians
to care for the eyes, ears and hearts of the local children and
also gives support to families that have children with cancer.
When I approached the group about my idea, they expressed great
skepticism about whether or not it would even be
possible—American dentists treating Mexican children who had
neither seen a dentist nor an American and speak no English!
During our first effort in 2007 we demonstrated that it was not
only no problem, but a huge success. Since then, we had worked
out of a private school located far out of town in a typical
Mexican barrio—dirt streets and dogs running around. The school,
which was built with private donations, is for children of
single parents and includes children between the ages of 2-8.
When built, a modest medical office and a one-chair dental
office were included. We worked out of that dental office from
2007-2015. We have also seen special needs children and were
told that no other dentist in the CSL area (or the Baja
Peninsula) would see them.
The Teams that went usually had three members.
Since there was a single chair, there was never a need to take
another dentist, although I did that at times. It has been a mix
of assistants, hygienists or any other combination imaginable
and each person understands that we are interchangeable, which
is to say, I have occasionally been the dental assistant!
In 2014 during the project, Gay Thatcher-Herrera,
the executive director of ADLN, informed me that the
organization had received two large donations in the amounts of
$50,000 and $70,000 and that the Board of Directors had voted to
use the funds to remove the roof of existing administrative
building and construct a brand-new second floor. On that floor
would be spaces for the audiologists and a large space for a new
dental clinic. I worked with them to design and equip the
facility and it was launched in May of 2016. There are three
pediatric dental chairs, all equipped with A-Dec control units
and American standard hand pieces. We have 6 tray set-ups and an
autoclave so that we should be able to keep 2-3 dentists busy
without delays for clean instruments, which had been a problem
before. It is almost unbelievable that the “little project” that
started in 2007 has turned into something that can definitely
make an impact on the local population. Because of its remote
location (and the difficulty for the ADLN to get its personnel
out to it) the original facility could only function once or
twice per year. Since the new clinic is located at the
administrative building, we have been holding 4-6 clinics per
year. The project is always seeking volunteers to staff the
larger facility for multiple sessions each year. The crucial
aspects of the Cabo San Lucas project are:
· Three dental chairs
available
· No Mexican
assistants to sterilize or help in any way
· Usually no Mexican
dentists are in any way involved
· Housing is provided
by the non-profit at the RUI Palace Resort
· Car rentals were
formerly recommended, but Uber is now in Cabo, so that recent
groups have had no problem getting around without their own
rentals
· There is some
travel time each day because the clinic is not near the housing
Due to COVID, construction delays and other factors
beyond our control, a second clinic, which was planned for
opening in 2020, only successfully began seeing patients in
February, 2023. As described above, it functions just like the
CSL clinic, but is much larger, which means it can theoretically
have larger teams with the possibility of brining 8-10
volunteers, which is simply impractical, if not detrimental in
the CSL clinic. Other than substituting FOUR chairs for the
THREE listed above, the aspects of the SJdC clinic are identical
to the CSL clinic.
There tends to be lots of camaraderie among the
volunteers because things are often done as a group. You may
view this a good thing or a not-so-good thing. Again,
family members' housing is not provided, since the ADLN
isn't willing to support family vacations. If family members are
actual dental personnel, then it could work, but otherwise, it
is limited to prior approval only. You certainly may bring
family members, but then you must pay for your own housing. No
exceptions!
I strongly suggest that you consider bringing some
of your own Team. This could be a fantastic “perk” and from a
practical standpoint, would enhance your ability to provide care
in a fashion you are accustomed. Your total cost will
depend on the airfare to Cabo. It is an easy destination because
of its popularity with Americans. From Seattle the fare is
usually $450-600/person. If you choose to rent a car, it can be
expensive because of the mandatory insurance rules in Mexico.
The advantage of a rental car is the convenience of being able
to get around more quickly and easily.
Scheduling for the future
I have transitioned out of being in charge of
scheduling teams. The new scheduling person (Dr. Christie Lee)
and her contact information will be included below. I always
gave priority to pediatric dentists who could bring some of
their Team members. I decided to limit the
participants to pediatric specialists, as it is already a
bit of a challenge to provide care for children who have never
seen a dentist so that having the skills for pediatric
procedures seems like a definite advantage. In the past, 4-6
Teams have gone each year which is how the continuity of care
became possible. Once groups have been on the project and know
how to set up the clinic, take inventory for materials, how to
keep statistics and records and how to take the clinic back down
at the end, they qualify to go independently.
What to do right now
If, having read all the above, you have definite
interest in joining the project, please write to Dr. Christie
Lee at: mexicodentalprojects@gmail.com. Scheduled dates for 2024 and
beyond are now available and once you have communicated your
commitment plus the number of Team members you can bring,
Christie can finalize plans for you.
Thank you for your interest and I am confident that
you will have a meaningful and memorable experience on the
project.