RSDM Goes West on Dental Mission

RSDM students pose with staff from the Indian Health Services dental clinic in Arizona.

Many residents of the Navajo Nation reservation in Red Mesa, Arizona live 50 miles or more from the nearest dental clinic.

“I treated patients who hadn’t been to the dentist in years,’’ said fourth-year RSDM student Aileen Zaydel, who volunteered to join RSDM’s annual mission to the region’s Indian Health Services dental clinic.

Zaydel and seven other students spent a week treating patients at the federally run clinic while doctors were on vacation, a tradition that dates back to 2004, when RSDM faculty and students first made the trip. Before they arrived, students learned about Native American culture to help them understand the best ways to offer treatment.

“Our briefing was that Native Americans aren’t very vocal, they don’t make eye contact much because they consider it impolite. And don't get in their face or get too touchy,’’ said Zaydel. “That was pretty much the case, but they were very respectful and appreciative of the work we were doing.’’

Since many patients had trouble making regular dental visits, RSDM students were aggressive about preventive care. “In New Jersey, we do sealants mostly on molars and teeth that need it. But there, it’s like, 'seal everything you can because they might not be coming back for awhile,''' said Zaydel.

As part of the mission, led by RSDM's Dr. Robert Shekitka, Native American staff and RSDM students had a “cultural exchange lunch,’’ where they shared pizza and Navajo tacos (“which are really good,’’ noted Zaydel).

RSDM visitors gained a new perspective on the history and traditions behind nearby tourist attractions. “The staff said they would never go to Mesa Verde National Park, where pueblos are built into cliffs and where a lot of tourists go. They said, for them, it would be akin to visiting a graveyard. The spirit of their ancestors is there. People lived and died there,'' Zaydel recounted.

Zaydel was thankful for so many opportunities to learn from the mission. “It was a great experience, serving a population that’s so in need here in the U.S,'' she said.