Collingwood teen Hassan Saigar has a heck of a story to tell when he's asked what he did for his summer vacation.
The 18-year-old rode a "pimped out" former school bus along the rural roads of Guatemala to a small village's community centre where he helped his father and uncle pull teeth and fill cavities.
Hassan joined a medical mission, with a focus on dentistry, to Guatemala and delivered some of the highlights in a presentation for the Rotary Club of South Georgian Bay this month.
He said his experience was "awesome," especially because he got to see how great, and fast, a dentist his father is.
"It was awesome to see the way the dentists worked and how they have to adapt to different situations and overcome adversities," said Hassan. "It was really awesome to assist as well, as I felt more involved ... we were doing a good thing and helping out."
Hassan was part of a team that included seven dentists, a cardiologist, four hygienists, and helpers. The Collingwood contingent of the team included Dr. Mohammed Saigar, Dr. Zain Saigar, Hassan Saigar, Lisa Shore, and Petra Schalle.
After landing in Guatemala City in mid-June, the group travelled to Jalapa for the mission where a community building was reserved for the dental clinics. The building did have a roof, but the walls left the interior open to the elements, which added some challenges for the local dentist.
There was a lot of rain over the four days of clinic, so most of the days the equipment and chairs had to be moved to spots where rain wasn't getting in.
"It rained so hard ... I've never seen so much rain," said Mohammed. "We were working in the rain."
Crowds of people lined up early in the morning, waiting for a chance to see a dentist and/or hygienist. Many of them took a bus to get to the clinic.
Procedures were done from white plastic lawn chairs, and the patients were positioned in reclining lawn chairs.
"There was a line for us and we didn't leave until everybody was done," said Mohammed.
The 30-year veteran dentist said there was a moment on the trip where he realized how important their presence and the pop-up clinic was for the people who came.
"We had a lot of kids and the child would be crying when they saw me, and I thought, 'I can't do this, they need sedation,' and I turned some of the kids away," said Mohammed. "Suddenly it struck me and I realized 'this guy's not going to see anybody else, I'm it."
So he worked fast and some kids cried the whole time they were in the chair.
"It was tough, it's not the way we're used to doing it in Canada, but it was fulfilling," said Mohammed.
He explained that many of the people who came to the pop-up clinic had been in pain for one to two years, because they couldn't afford a visit to the dentist. In Guatemala, there may be no dentist in their village or in any of the neighbouring villages, so a long trip is required.
Many of the people who came to the clinic in Jalapa were bussed there.
"You suddenly realize, 'I can make a difference,'" said Mohammed. "It might be just a drop in the bucket, but I'm making a difference in that person's life."
The team had 12 chairs going for the Jalapa clinic and each person who sat in a chair was allowed one procedure.
"You pick the worst thing and you do one tooth, because there's a line-up," said Dr. Zain.
He did, however, break the rule for one woman.
"The one case that was huge for me was this 17- or 18-year-old whose front teeth were just, unfortunately, bottomed out with large cavities, they were black," said Zain. "I said, 'we've got to fix this or she's not going to have a smile' ... I was like, 'I can't do [just] one thing on this lady, I've got to fix her smile.'"
Zain and his helpers spent more than an hour working on her front teeth, cleaning and filling them.
"She was so happy to have her smile back," said Zain. "And she is so young! Those kinds of things made me say 'it was good, I would do it again.'"
Hygienist Lisa Shore is also in for another trip someday. This was her first and she thought one would be enough, but she was struck by the need she saw while she was helping at the clinic.
"I wish we could have done more," said Shore. "I always wanted to do something like this and just didn't know if I ever would ... but I would do it again and I hope that we could help more people."
Both dentists thanked the Rotary Club for their support, particularly for the Rotary District grant of $5,000 that was applied to the cost of instruments.
"The money you gave us and those instruments that we took were lifesavers," said Mohammed. "It was exactly what we needed, and everybody was lining up to borrow our instruments."
Zain confirmed there were a lot of extractions that were only possible because of one of the instruments he and his brother brought with them thanks to the Rotary grant.
Mohammed has now been to Guatemala twice, this is the first time he brought his son, Hassan. Mohammed has also volunteered at free dental clinics in Ontario, offering services to people who otherwise couldn't afford to pay for them.
"It's a huge cost for us to do this, but I don't look at it that way," said Mohammed. "I'm thinking, 'I'm changing one person's life today, and that's most important to me."
The Guatemala trip was sponsored by the W Foundation and Health Mission Outreach was the organization on the ground helping make the mission in Jalapa possible.
Mohammed said anyone wishing to donate to future missions like the Guatemala trip can do so through the W Foundation online. He said there's a need for more instruments that can be left in the country for future dental clinics and also for cash to help pay travel costs for dental office staff.
