Dental Clinic Report

Project Amigo received this letter from Bruce Powell of Centerville-Farmington Rotary Club:

Dear Friends at Project Amigo,

It is with gratitude that I share this story with you, with my thanks to you for providing the means to bring about a true miracle. I hope it can be used to help others see that what they do at Project Amigo changes lives.

In October of 2003 Dr. David Hinkson of Logan, Utah, accompanied me to Project Amigo for a week of volunteer dental service. We reviewed the teeth of nearly 600 children and provided dental treatment for many of the severe cases.

Among the young people that visited the Project Amigo dental clinic was a lanky kid who came to the clinic late in the afternoon. He came in by himself. He spoke to no one. Though I speak Spanish and made great efforts to make him smile, he was closed-mouthed and stoic. It was near the end of our week of work, and I had perfected my banter with the kids. Yet, this one did not respond to anything I said.

Once in the dental chair, Dr. Hinkson asked him to open his mouth. As he did so, my understanding of the cause of his silence was immediate. His teeth were well developed, with no obvious problem except one. Actually, two rather large ones! Oddly, this young man had not two large front teeth, but four. Not four in a row, but two sets of front teeth, one in front of the other. I thought of a shark with its rows of teeth as I stared at him.

This was not an orthodontic problem. It was a freak of nature. An extra row of teeth growing behind perfectly fine teeth. No wonder he refused to speak or open his mouth. This child had learned long ago that doing so would cause embarrassment and emotional pain. Not only was it tremendously odd looking, but it clearly it would be difficult for him to speak with those added teeth confusing the tongue and distorting his words.

The young man was in the dental chair less than twenty minutes. He left the office as he came in. In silence. No thank you. No comment or smile, though if he had opened his mouth the two odd teeth would have been missing. As he left, I spoke to a lady from Cofradia who was seated waiting for treatment. She commented that he had always been very shy and introverted. I think I understood the root of his problems.

I returned to Cofradia in February of 2004. While visiting the elementary school in town I was delighted to see this same young man. I went up to him and again spoke to him. "How are you?" He looked at me with an eye of recognition and replied that he was fine. I asked him what grade he was in and he happily said, "Sixth grade." I asked his name. "Jesús." We spoke briefly about what he liked to do with his free time. He spoke with a slight lisp, but he spoke directly to me without hesitancy. He was clearly pleased with himself.

As tears came to my eyes, I turned away from him to speak to another child. Jesús was changed. He was different, and the difference had to do with the mission of Project Amigo. Certainly, Jesús is not alone. So many lives have been changed by what Project Amigo and its volunteers do. Some lives change more quickly than others.

Thank you for letting me be a small part of these changes.

Tu amigo, Bruce Johnson: