Dental Healthcare Program in Las Terrenas

I spent a total of 6 months in the Dominican Republic and can generally say that I love the country. I went to two different hospitals and then to the dentist. I hoped that I would get a real insight into medicine there and that this would help me decide what to study, but I have to say that this was unfortunately not the case. There was really absolutely nothing to do in the first hospital and we sat there for four hours a day just reading. On average, we had maybe two patients a day, nobody ca...

My experience in Samana with Aldeas de Paz has definitely exceeded my expectations in a couple of different aspects. First, by working as a dental assistant through the dental care program, I was able to work with a dentist side by side, directly interact with patients, and closely observe the reality of dental care in a developing country. The Staff at the hospital including my dentist were very nice to me which made it easy to adapt and become part of the team. It had been a valuable experienc...

A few weeks from when I wrote this, I stepped on to a small budget airliner and made my way across the Caribbean to the Dominican Republic. Before this experience I had never left the United States, and I was unsure what my time in Samana would be like. Needless to say, it was an absolute blast. I volunteered in a small dental clinic in Las Pascualas, a small, sleepy city on the outskirts of Samana. Volunteering in the clinic opened my eyes to some of the difficulties associated with public he...