LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- For a 944th Medical Squadron dental technician, a mission in Ecuador was an experience she’d never forget.
Tech. Sgt. Kristie Wever volunteered to join the Army’s 94th Medical Unit from Seagoville, Texas, for a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in August 2005. The team of 32 included physicians, nurses, veterinarians, and medical, optometry, and dental technicians.
The group visited three sites in nine days with each site containing Ecuadorian patients with various medical needs.
Sergeant Wever was a member of the dental team, which consisted of an Army dentist, an Ecuadorian dentist and two other dental technicians.
“The challenge was to overcome language barriers because no one from the dental team spoke Spanish, but translators were available,” Sergeant Wever said. “I took it upon myself to learn the most common dental phrases in Spanish to triage each patient’s dental needs.”
The dental clinic’s mission was to assess which patients required emergency treatment. The only available resources allowed for strictly tooth extractions, Sergeant Wever said.
On average, the dental team treated more than 60 people and more than 100 teeth were extracted per day.
One site the team visited was a very poor village high in the mountains of Ecuador. Sergeant Wever said a father came to the dental clinic with his 5-year-old child, who was in extreme pain with a severe infection.
“The child was unable to open her mouth and the whole right side of her face was swollen,” she said. “Due to the extent of the infection, the dentist decided to put her on antibiotics immediately and have her come back in two days, the last day at that particular site.”
On the last day, the feather returned with the child, who was in better spirits and not as swollen.
“Although the antibiotics were not in her system long enough to overcome the infection, the dentist knew that the tooth needed to be extracted,” Sergeant Wever said. “The child had already been experiencing extreme pain. The touch of her cheek brought her to whimper with pain.”
But, the little girl was brave and did not cry, Sergeant Wever said.
With quick hands, Army Capt. Glen Lance from the 94th Medical Unit, pulled the tooth in a matter of seconds before the little girl knew what was going on.
“Her father thanked us with extreme gratitude,” said Sergeant Wever, “(He said) we were angels sent to save his daughter.”