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Island: Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga
Dates: August 5 – 21, 1999
In what turned out to be a
family affair, Ric Hufnagel, a Cloverdale, Calif. dentist,
and daughters Bethany, Meishel and Erica provided dental
care at Prince Wellington NGU Hospital on Vava’u,
Tonga, where there is only one dentist to serve 18,000
people.
For the first week, they
were unable to do much dentistry because it took the airlines
that long to deliver their equipment. Instead, they spent
most of the week repairing on the hospital’s equipment
and facility.
Instead of setting up their
portable equipment, they acquired and replaced a non-working,
antiquated unit at the hospital, then replumbed the suction,
water, air, and gas; rewired the power in the operatory
floor boxes; and repaired leaks in the portable air compressor.
Instead of doing patient
exams, they rummaged through moth-eaten blueprints from
hospital storage and located the mechanical room, which
turned out to be flooded with 6-8 inches of water, mud
and pig feces. Instead of drilling teeth, they dug a 50-ft.
trench to correct the grade and drain the room, then cleaned
and tested the built in air compressor and suction system.
Finally, the equipment arrived
and they were up and running! During the second week,
they were able to perform 165 procedures, at a US value
of $15,864. In addition
to addressing the acute dental needs, the team left behind
a mobile dental unit and light for the hospital dental
department.
In retrospect, Dr. Hufnagel
said: "Had
all our equipment arrived with us, we would have been
doing dentistry instead of getting the hospital dental
clinic’s systems all up and running as efficiently as
possible, which really will stand to benefit more people
in the long run than our two weeks of dentistry."
Team
Members:
Ric Hufnagel, D.D.S., Cloverdale,
CA – dentist
Bethany Hufnagel, Cloverdale, CA – dental
assistant
Shelley Hufnagel, Cloverdale, CA – dental
assistant
Erica Hufnagel, Cloverdale, CA – dental
assistant
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