2020 WINTER NEWSLETTER
STUDENT OUTREACH
CLINIC NEWS
The Peronia dental clinic Over the course of 2019, 77 dental students, coming from continues to thrive and serve as a model and teaching center for all universities across the globe, dedicated a week or more of of our other clinics. Our volunteer numbers have never been higher service to OWF. We are encouraged to see that student and we are gratified to see many returning groups. Local staff volunteer numbers have tripled training continues under the over the last three years. direction of Spear Study Club leader and Ambassador, Dr. Mike We’re grateful for the Johnson. We know these commitment of these students trainings are key to creating and their interest in not only sustainable clinics that are doing good dentistry but prepared to provide the best cultivating cross border preventative and restorative friendships and good will in dental care to at risk communities. Guatemala.
NEW AMBASSADOR ING Founders Glen and Lisa Wysel awarded the first non-dentist ambassadorship to Candice Giotopoulos at the 2019 Spear Summit in Scottsdale. Candice has accompanied her husband Dr. Paul Giotopoulos several times to Guatemala bringing her own talents and heart to the clinic and patients. Her passion for the work of Open Wide is appreciated by all who are lucky enough to meet her and work with her. The Giotopoulos’s live and work in New York and are expecting their first baby soon!
OUR PROGRAM IMPACTS TOGETHER WE ARE TRANSFORMING THE DEFINITION OF HUMANITARIAN DENTAL CARE
OPEN WIDE VISITORS TO SPEAR This summer our office hosted two special guests from Guatemala. In May, Jimena Parada, a young medical student from Guatemala City joined us to do the complete translations, from Spanish to English, of our Open Wide clinical and administrative manuals. The guides, written in collaboration with Spear dentists, Open Wide volunteers and local staff were written to document all of the important functions, processes and procedures that make the clinics run smoothly and they have proven to be an essential resource for our Guatemalan clinics.
Dr. Rodrigo Davilla, current Dental Clinic Supervisor for the Municipality of Villa Nueva visited the team at SPEAR in August. We first met Rodrigo when he began his work at the clinic as a dental resident from San Carlos University. Since then, many SPEAR volunteers have enjoyed working with Rodrigo, providing mentorship to him in pediatrics, special care and advance restorative techniques. Having Rodrigo in Scottsdale where he could reconnect with mentors, see the facility and experience the exciting climate of SPEAR was a great opportunity for him and for all who spent time with him.
WEST SHORE STUDY CLUB IN NAPLES, FLORIDA PRESENTS $5,000 DONATION TO OWF FOUNDER IMTIAZ MANJI
Thanks to Jimena's translations, we will have the option to share the material on a wider scale in the future. It was a pleasure to have Jimena with us for a several weeks in Scottsdale, Arizona.
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
Open Wide student ambassadors and the first two recipients of OWF’s Student Scholarship, Dominique Chagniot and Iriff Ulep, found time in their busy lives as UCSF dental students to publish an article in the UCSF alumni magazine about the work of Open Wide. By sharing about the mission of OWF and the exciting opportunities for students to volunteer in Guatemala they were able to raise $970 for future student scholarships! The OWF Student Ambassador program was developed by Ryan Gugenheim, dental student from USC. Out of the program came the idea of creating a scholarship fund to help cover trip expenses for students participating in a week of service in Guatemala. Thanks to Ryan’s work, the ambassador/scholarship program is spreading to other U.S. dental universities. If you would like to support the scholarship fund or would like to learn more about how to become involved in the student ambassador program, contact Open Wide and we will help you get started!
CHARITY BALL HONORS THE OPEN WIDE FOUNDATION In early 2019, Dr. Karl Andreasen, Spear dentist and Open Wide volunteer, reached out to OWF with the idea of doing a fund-raiser in his own community. Karl and his staff from Momenta Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery went to work and organized the first ever OWF Charity Ball at the historic Landmark Center in Minneapolis! OWF local Ambassadors, Dr. Rick Timm and his wife Sue agreed to join the gala and share about the positive impact that Open Wide has made in Guatemala and in their own lives. Thanks to the tremendous amount of work Dr. Andreasen and his staff put in to the event, they were able to raise over $17,000 in donations! We often say that Open Wide is about “Open Mouths, Open Minds and Open Hearts” and we see it in action with effort such as this! Thank you!
CARIES ARREST PROGRAM TRAINING Dr. Rodrigo Davila, our lead dentist, shared his reflections after the Peronia SDF training (SDF is one type of chemical treatment to arrest caries development), "Our first experience with SDF was at a special needs week at the Peronia clinic when Ambassador Dr. Rebecca Schaffer
In July 2019, volunteer Angela McKinney made her first trip to the Peronia Clinic. For the past three years she had worked extensively with native families and youth in remote areas of Alaska. Seeing the need for caries prevention in these populations she began her work with SDF - a new caries prevention technique that is proving to revolutionize how we can avoid decay and tooth loss in underserved populations.Â
demonstrated how effective SDF was with the special needs patients. We had never heard of this groundbreaking treatment before." "Our awareness expanded in our 2019 training week supported by Angela McKinney and Dr. Mike Johnson. We learned that SDF was not only a powerful treatment for special needs patients, but
On this first trip to Peronia, Angela worked diligently to train staff and deliver SDF treatments to the youngest of our patients. Together the team treated a record 192 patients in one week! Her son, Chase, was there also to capture the groundbreaking week. Since her first trip, Angela returned two more times in 2019 to continue to support this exciting initiative. Angela's contribution comes on the heels of an enormous amount of work and collaboration starting with researchers Steve Duffin, DDS and Microbiologist Marcus Duffin and their willingness to share their groundbreaking research and development in chemical treatment of caries. A special thank you to our Ambassadors Drs. Burris, Cornehl, Schaffer, Hicks, Johnson, Pearce and Tesoniero for their participation in the review and recommendation. Please watch for more information in future communications about this exciting initiative!
very successful for children as well. We treated between 20 - 30 young people a day and most had between two to ten cavities each" Dr. Davila shared. Angela said it best, "It is really important to have a good smile and be free of pain. SDF treatment arrests decay - so children do not have to suffer the pain of tooth decay. Pain affects everything and having a good smile is a huge part of having self confidence."
Pictured: Dr. Rodrigo Davila, Carolina and Angela McKinney
CONNECTING WITH GUATEMALAN DENTAL STUDENTS Guatemalan dental graduates from San Carlos University (a prominent public dental university in Guatemala City), are required to give back in their fifth year by working in
Daniel
a rural public clinic for nine months. Our Open Wide San Pedro clinic staff enjoyed the opportunity of having Daniel and Nataly complete this requirement with them. Their main focus was to provide oral health education and free dental care to children. The student graduates also led fluoride applications in the local schools near the clinic. Our Open Wide volunteers especially enjoyed working alongside these special young practitioners. Daniel and
Nataly
Nataly provided translation to our volunteers, stayed after hours in the clinic to assist volunteer weeks, and participated during their school break in SDF trainings led by our volunteers.
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WINTER ISSUE
EMPLOYEES STEP IN TO HELP
January is back to school season in Guatemala. With this in mind our Peronia staff shared with us how impactful it would be to be able to distribute school supplies following our young patient appointments. In Guatemala many children can’t go to school simply because their families can’t afford books, uniforms and school supplies. Through the leadership of Magdalena Sabat, Spear Customer Resource Specialist and the Spear Cares committee we were able to address this need by donating and assembling 300 backpacks filled with school supplies! The backpacks will be delivered by our Ambassador Mike Johnson in the Spring when he leads a student group to Guatemala to dedicate a week of service in our clinics.
AMBASSADOR BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER We wanted to give a special shout-out of gratitude to Dr. Frank Romano, one of our OWF Ambassadors, for going the extra mile to support the Open Wide Foundation by doing a 2019 Facebook birthday fundraiser. A generous heart and steady dedication to the mission of Open Wide has brought Dr. Romano back to our clinics in Guatemala multiple times. He has become a foundational leader in the OWF Special Care Dentistry program in our Peronia clinic. Since its inception, the program is reaching hundreds of special needs patients who before had no access to dental care. If you would like to do your own Facebook Birthday Fundraiser to benefit Open Wide, reach out to openwide@openwidefoundation.org and our staff will be glad to help you get started.
Industry Partners The support from our Industry partners is a key element to the success of Open Wide. We would like to extend our gratitude to each of our generous sponsors.
Thank you! WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO OUR VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS FOR MAKING ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE. YOUR SUPPORT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THOUSANDS OF LIVES AND CREATED A LEGACY OF SUSTAINABLE ORAL HEALTH CARE IN COMMUNITIES THAT PREVIOUSLY HAD NO ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE.
JOIN US THE IMPACT OF OPEN WIDE IS FAR-REACHING, AND YET THERE'S STILL SO MUCH MORE WE CAN DO. WE HOPE THAT THIS YEAR YOU'LL CONSIDER JOINING US AS A DONOR AND/OR VOLUNTEER. LEARN MORE ABOUT OPEN WIDE FOUNDATION CALL 855-843-8444 OR VISIT www.openwidefoundation.org