January 2012 WUSTL Dental Brigade

Start Date: Jan 8, 2012 10:00 PM
End Date: Jan 14, 2012 10:00 PM

Volunteers on the Medical and Dental Brigades will be working closely together to provide quality health initiatives to a community that otherwise has limited access to health care. Volunteers will spend three days in a community in order to optimize the amount of time patients are able to spend with the physicians and dentists. Each patient will receive a physician consultation, teeth cleaning and a fluoride treatment as well as have access to pap smears, prostate exams and restorative dental care as necessary. Volunteers will have the opportunity to take patient vitals, obtain patient history and current symptoms, shadow and assist licensed physicians and dentists, participate in preventative education, and fill prescriptions under licensed pharmacists. Volunteers will become familiar with the prevalent health issues in the community and learn about how to prevent and treat those illnesses. These brigades provide each volunteer with the opportunity to make a tangible impact on a specific community while gaining real life experience in the field of international medicine and dentistry.