My heart is so full of love, happiness, gratitude, and emotion. I knew the day I was accepted to go to Jamaica study abroad that the trip would be life changing, but I never expected it to be as impactful as it was. On this trip, I not only helped the Jamaican people smile bigger but I also gained insight into the true meaning of positivity and appreciation. I left Jamaica with distant family that holds a special, special place in my heart. As I reflect on our week, I think about the day we were supposed to leave, the day we were told that we weren’t going at all because of Hurricane Matthew. After a hard wait, Mrs. Krueger did it and we were told a few days later that we would be going for 3 days less than what we were originally supposed to go. When we arrived, we spent a late night organizing our supplies and were off the next morning to our first clinic. We had the option to work 3 days and have 1 day as a day off but I chose, as well as many of my classmates, to work all 4 days straight. I could have worked non-stop if I had the choice. The whole Jamaican community were so appreciative and positive that it filled me with energy to continue to help; 3 out of the 4 days, I skipped lunch to make sure I could see as many patients as possible.

I learned so much about myself as a person and as a clinician. Our working conditions consisted of no air conitioning, small working space, fragile chairs, and units that wouldn’t always work. On my last day, I treated the hardest patient I’ve ever had to scale. As I started to use my ultrasonic, it broke after the second tooth, forcing me to hand scale the entire maxillary teeth. The patient ended up taking me 2.5 hours to completely finish. At the end of the cleaning, I asked him about a tooth that was completely decayed. He said to me that he appreciated all that I did for him but he was hoping to get the tooth extracted that day but since one service was allowed, he settled for a cleaning. I went to the doctor and asked if he had time to come over and the second I got the answer yes, I ran over and anesthetize my patient. Walking out, we took a picture and he gave me a huge hug and thanked me so genuinely. Every time I would finish a patient, I would receive huge hugs and gratitude for what I did for them. This is something that doesn’t happen often here in the states so these reactions and the emotions from my patients was such an overwhelming feeling.

I cannot wait to go back to Jamaica and continue helping their community. I was so fulfilled after staying overtime the third and fourth day knowing that we saw every cleaning and extraction patient. After the 4 days in the clinics, our group was able to provide $181,997 in free dental hygiene services. I am so grateful I was chosen to be a part of this incredible experience. I wish it were possible for every future hygienist to go on this trip. It’s life changing in so many ways. One love.