By Bob Bobbitt, DDS, FPFA
Reprinted with permission from the San Diego County Dental Society
Fourteen years ago, a small group of volunteers installed a 2-chair dental clinic in a soon-to-be-demolished fellowship hall at St. James Catholic Church in Solana Beach. Over a 4-day weekend, PVC pipe was hurriedly attached to an air compressor, a vacuum machine, a water source; an X-ray machine was carefully bolted to a wall; 2 old dental chairs and units were wheeled in on a piano dolly, spilling hydraulic fluid as we learned about such things. A dip tank in a dark room in an old Harvey chemclave was installed and we were in business. Primarily, we concentrated on prevention and taking care of pain and infection, our patient population being children of the "working poor." We soon realized our patients and their parents hoped for the same standard of care the rest of the community enjoyed, so we expanded our scope of services and we do comprehensive pediatric dentistry. After several years, we built a new 4-chair open-bay building with volunteer labor from the local Del Mar Rotary club--a local returned electrical engineer, a local roofing contractor, a local cement contractor, and other volunteers. Roger Kingston, DDS, FPFA, has always been available as our oral surgeon. We train and use pre-dental students from UCSD, San Marcos State, and San Diego State. Most become X-ray certified, quickly learned chairside assisting, sterilization procedures, and how to set up various trays. Most of them are being accepted into dental schools, and we hope their volunteer experience leads them to volunteer in the future, and some already have. We stress the fact that we are an ecumenical group of volunteers from all walks and persuasions.
Welcome Home Ministry
Thirteen years ago, a very charismatic minister who visits Las Colinas Women's Prison asked if we could help her Christian women's organization, Welcome Home Ministry. We agreed and began a Wednesday night schedule for these recently released women. It has been a very rewarding experience and their rehab success rate is in the 90% range, while the recidivism in the general prison population is much higher. These ladies are so appreciative and often have had years of neglect often needing extractions, flippers, and/or much restorative dentistry. We pay special attention to restoring a nice smile which makes a big difference in self-esteem, job interviews, and in their return to mainstream society. We also do extractions for other adults outside of our Welcome Home program--patients who have pain and infection.
East of San Ignacio
About this same time, Amigos de los Californios, a secular group that goes to the mountains east of San Ignacio in Baja, a 2-day drive, invited us to join forces and spend a week doing dentistry in this remote region. It soon turned into a 2-week trip once a year with 8 trucks loaded with generators, compressors, dental units designed by John Hayes of Hayes Handpieces in Carlsbad, included high-speed handpieces with fiberoptics, high-speed vacuum, and all the supplies to do state-of-the-art dentistry with an emphasis on prevention. We recently started taking a lab technician with us to make flippers to replace the teeth we have extracted. The adults present us with some very complex situations due to years of neglect, but the kids are in good shape following our annual trips for the past 13 years. Sealants, fluoride, and education are working. While in the Sierra de San Francisco, a pediatric professor from UCSD who was in the area visiting ancient cave paintings saw our operations and asked we could visit some of the Indian groups in the area outlying Ensenada.
Dr. Bob Bobbitt is a retired member of SDCDS and has practiced in Del Mar and followed by Encinitas since 1965. He has been honored by the American Dental Association for his extraordinary efforts.