July 11, 2002

Tooth and gum disease in children was the greatest problem the team encountered by Canvasback's most recent dental team, which served the dental needs of the people in Yap June 22-July 4. The team was led by Tom Wieg, DDS, Canvasback's board chairman.  In response to their findings, Dr. Wieg is now organizing an island-wide fluoride program for school age children. "Our five-year goal is to stop permanent tooth loss in children ages six to 15," he says.

As they suspected, the team arrived to find the dental clinic in a state of complete disrepair. Be it suction, air compressor, autoclave, dental chairs--you name it--it was broken down.  By "working like a beaver," dental technician Tom Lengyl had the clinic minimally operational within 24 hours and fully functional in two and a half days. He then went on to add an air gun and model trimmer to the lab and install new vacuum hand pieces and a foot control to the dental units. Lengyel continued to make improvements and instruct the maintenance staff throughout the team's stay.

Patients numbered 40 to 50 per day, and many more lined up to be seen. Canvasback board member Harry Chambers made his first trip to the islands with a dental team. As a supporter of Canvasback for many years, Dr. Chambers was thrilled to experience firsthand the work that we do in the islands. Especially for the children.

Dr. Harry Chambers and daughter Laura work together to heal a patient's dental pain.

This particular mission turned out to be a "family affair" for the three dentists who served on the team. Dr. Wieg was accompanied by his wife Caleen as team coordinator and sons Andrew and Timothy as assistants.  Dentist Harry Chambers was assisted by daughter Laura, and dentist Doug Hufnagel worked along side his brother, dentist Ric Hufnagel. Hygienist Gail Woodard and technician Thomas Lengyl rounded out the 10-person team. 

Lengyel worked extensively with the maintenance crew, teaching them a few tricks they never thought of. "The maintenance people are working with a hope and a prayer and no spare parts," he said. "They don’t have the most basic tools: no hydraulic press, drill index or proper sized drill bits. The maintenance shop doesn’t even have a machinist hammer, so they are using a wood hammer instead."

The blessing of Lengyel’s expertise was felt even beyond the dental clinic, when he learned that the main vacuum pump for the hospital had not functioned in 25 years. Half a dozen technicians had been called in to work on it in the past, but none had been able to fix it.

Dental tech. Thomas Lengyel worked hard to make the dental clinic functional. "The maintenance people are working with a hope and a prayer and no spare parts," he said.

What a challenge! Tom had to manufacture parts on site, but it the end, he was able to get the pump working!

"We worked very hard, but it was an extremely gratifying and rich experience," Lengyel said.

Betel nut stains "before" and "after" cleaning.  Not only are the stains unsightly,
the lime used in the chew is abrasive and wears down teeth. 
Mouth cancers are also common.

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