DCF Honduras - September 2026

2 days ago

2 min read

THEY MAKE US PROUD

A Team of 36 travelled south to Honduras on September 12 to serve alongside our friends with Good Samaritan in San Marcos de Colon. The makeup was 4 D4s, 9 D3s, 1 D1 (University of Washington), 10 graduate dentists, 1 predental student, and some helpers.

While we have visited this site many times, it’s always a joy to return. It’s natural to have expectations and hopes for the trip, but I was humbled by how well that the various aspects constituting our teamwork came together.

Now that DCF is approaching 25 years since founding, we are most fortunate to have many alumni dentists returning to participate as attendings. They now provide oversight and mentoring to the undergraduate students just as they received when they were undergrads.

There are many similarities between clinics at MUSC and what’s done on service trips. However, what’s different is the steady supply of patients awaiting care. Thus a student progresses from one restoration or extraction to the next with only minimal break. It’s wonderful to see how much progress and growth occurs from the beginning of the week to the end. The DCF dental faculty is justifiably proud of the students and commends the efforts of the CDM staff.

There were too many highlights of the week to single out them all. Of note, however, was the opportunity that each student had to participate in one or more endodontic procedures (there’s lots of anterior tooth decay in Honduras!) in addition to placing multiple restorations, removing lots of calculus, and extracting some strong teeth.

It continues to be a privilege to be allowed to take students on such international service trips. Please accept a BIG thanks for your support.

Respectfully,

Bill