Between January 8 – January 18, 2024, Hands on Peru was visited by our third brigade of 5th year dental students from Basel University, Switzerland (The previous 2 brigades were hosted in 2018 and 2019).
In those ten days, we saw 436 total patients and performed 536 procedures. The most common procedures were fillings (135) and Profilaxis (302). They performed 28 extraditions, 30 x-rays, 8 provisional fillings, 2 root canals, and other fluoride & diagnostic evaluations.
Patients came from all over Huanchaco and Trujillo to seek high quality dental care.
Our team consisted of 2 registered dentists in Peru (Dr. Jose, HOP’s lead dentist, and Dra. Violeta, HOP dentist), 6 dental students, 5 volunteer medical interpreters from Trujillo, 5 volunteer nurse technician students from Trujillo, and 2 international health volunteers from USA, as well as supervision and coordination from HOP’s core staff.
“Our volunteering with HOP was really exciting and a wonderful experience. We got to help help a lot of people from the local community. The team from HOP was really helpful and motivated in organizing our stay and work experience.” – Toby (Basel University dental student)
Campaigns like these require medical interpreting between students who do not speak Spanish and their patients. HOP has built a network throughout the years of local interpreters, training them and ensuring that they understand their crucial role between doctor and patient.
“It was a wonderful experience… for me to improve my English” – Yamile (interpreter)
“It was so great, a fantastic opportunity to improve my Spanish. All of the interpreters did a great job.” – Richard (Basel dental student)
Campaigns such as these are hosted as an effort to expand access to essential and preventive healthcare to as many people as possible in the surrounding areas.
“In campaigns like this, we are able to help so many people who would otherwise not have the means to get the dental attention they deserve. It is also a great opportunity for the population to learn about Cesapu and all of our other services that can benefit them.” – Renzo Aguilar
If you or your dental team is interested in visiting HOP, please reach out to us directly and send an e-mail to our founders katie@handsonperu.org (if from USA) or rosa@handsonperu.org (if from Europe).
