Day 3 of Clinic

It is almost lunchtime on the 3rd day of clinic.

In yesterday's afternoon session, we continued to treat a large number of patients.  Many people come here in need of extensive dental work - even when we can't fix all their problems, we make sure to at least take care of their chief complaint in order to relieve pain.  Yesterday we finished a little earlier than on Monday, so we finally had some time to relax in the evening.

Since we arrived in Guimaca, we have seen extensive decay of the maxillary anterior teeth.  Yesterday we learned that it is a local custom to take pieces of unripe green mango, place them between the front teth, and suck on them all day.  The sugar and acid from the mango are probably the cause of the anterior caries.  We have since been instructing patients not to keep fruit or anything else sweet in their mouths for such long periods of time.

This morning, patients lined up early and kept us busy with many procedures: single extractions, wisdom tooth extractions, full mandibular extractions, composite restorations, and amalgam restorations.  And we continue to educate the patients about not keeping mango in their mouths all day.