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Colorado reserve dental team supports Malawi medical mission

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jody Ritchie
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --   Imagine walking nine miles to stand in line hoping to see a dentist who will pull your tooth using minimal anesthetic.

This is life in rural Malawi, Africa.

Every year, a team of Air Force Reserve dental specialists joins forces with health professionals from the Army National Guard and Reserve to provide medical service to an African nation in an exercise called MEDREACH. For MEDREACH 11, the team visited Malawi, a country of 15 million people with only 10 licensed dentists.

The objective of MEDREACH 11 is to enhance the readiness of both Malawi and United States military forces medical personnel and increase understanding of the medical capabilities and proficiencies of both forces, enhancing their ability to operate together.

Col. Sheldon "Shel" Omi, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron commander and a practicing civilian dentist, commanded a team of six Air Force Reservists including Senior Airman Jennifer Sanchez, 302nd ASTS dental technician, during the exercise.

The team spent two weeks visiting rural areas of Malawi and extracting teeth without the luxury of basics such as electrical equipment or separate rooms to work on the patients.

Of the clinics visited, only one had electrical power allowing the team to provide a handful of fillings and a few cleanings. Otherwise, the Reservists worked with equipment that didn't require electricity. "We had a generator to provide electricity to the dental sterilizer we had should we need it," said Colonel Omi.

Although the working conditions were not ideal, the people of Malawi showed up in overwhelming numbers for dental care. When the team arrived at a clinic in the morning the lines of patients were long and some had to be turned away in the afternoon.

According to Colonel Omi, the team planned to see 50 patients per day. However, they averaged more than 130 patients at each clinic, extracting 555 teeth.

"It was very hard to turn people away, but we started running out of supplies," he said. With the lack of modern facilities, complaints from patients might be expected, but the opposite was true.

"The people were so nice and thankful; and brave," said Airman Sanchez. "They wouldn't flinch when we gave them a shot, sometimes we practically had them in a headlock pulling a tooth, and they never complained."

Airman Sanchez, a dental assistant in her civilian job, took advantage of a unique opportunity to assist a team of Army ophthalmologists with cataract removal surgeries.

"I figured when will I ever have the chance to do this?" Airman Sanchez said. "Being there when they take the bandages off and can see is a very rewarding experience."

Team members agreed that personal satisfaction is what made the trip memorable. This is not a new concept to Colonel Omi, who regularly volunteers his dental services to serve low-income families in Denver and he felt fortunate to be on the MEDREACH team. "Being able to see some happy faces and appreciative people was very rewarding," he said.

Such satisfaction does not come easy though. The team worked long hours and gave as much as they could. Airman Sanchez even left behind some personal items such as mosquito repellent and flashlights she'd brought on the trip.

"Even the Malawi Defense Force was impressed with how much we [the U.S. military] wanted to help their people," added Colonel Omi.

"To my Air Force friends out there, keep your eyes and ears open for these opportunities, they are out there and worth it," he said.