The opportunity to participate in the St. Peterburg College Jamaica Dental Hygiene 2017 Study Abroad program was a great experience. As a dental hygiene student at St. Peterburg College I do not think I could have asked for a better place to go and better patients to see. Jamaicans are extremely thankful for the work we do while we are there, and we get the opportunity to see patients who have never seen a dentist before, and their oral conditions are challenging for us. My skills as a clinician have grown from 1 to 10. At school we normally have 2 hours, or 2 ½ per patient. In Jamaica we were seeing 6 and more patients – sometime as many as 10 – in 8 hours and yet delivering the same quality service as we do in school.

We also went to a school and educated kids. Prevention is the main focus for us. If these kids we saw during the week we were providing services in Jamaica retained what we taught them, they will be less likely to face oral diseases as they grow older.

Personally it was very rewarding to use my skills to help people who cannot afford dental care treatment. Some of the patients I saw hugged me at the end of the appointment and told me that I changed their lives, or that now they can smile… for me there is not better feeling than that. Seeing these people smiling and happy at the end of the appointments was my “mission accomplished” at the end of each day.

I encourage every student to participate in the St. Peterburg College Jamaica Dental Hygiene Study Abroad. We can make the difference!

Written by Alina Cabezas Ortiz, 2017 Jamaica Dental Hygiene Study Abroad student

To learn more about this study abroad program or the other study abroad opportunities available at St. Petersburg College, click here.

Questions? Contact us via email at studyabroad@spcollege.edu or via phone at 727-341-4735.