Les Ennis DMD 1987: In the first week of May 2009, a group of five dentists and two hygienists from the South Surrey area travelled to central Vietnam on a humanitarian dental mission.
Our team consisted of Les Ennis DMD 1987, Dr. Ken Stones, Dr. Murray Bonh, Dr. Dan Green and Lange Soo DMD 1987, as well as dental hygienists Deborah McDonald and Judy Simonson. We worked in partnership with the amazing NGO East Meets West, which has a permanent dental clinic based in Da Nang.
Our outreach clinic was set up in a school room at #1 Primary School in Quang Nam Province, approximately an hour’s drive west of Da Nang. Over a period of four working days, our team treated 688 children, averaging 175 children per day. We provided 3,378 services, including 597 extractions, 548 fillings and 1,283 cleanings and fluoride treatments.
We worked eight hours a day and enjoyed fabulous lunches prepared by the teachers at the school.
For those of you who want life-altering experiences that will dampen your cynicism—it is on these humanitarian missions that you will meet many good people doing good things for the right reasons. Altruism at its finest!
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