Well…..we are flying out tomorrow and back to our homes in the wonderful USA. I think we are all ready to get back to our lives. I know that this entire experience won’t completely hit me until I get home and am able to reflect on our time in Jamaica.

I’ve learned so many interesting things while asking about life in Jamaica. One word I would use to describe the people of Jamaica: PROUD. They love life and don’t stress the little things. The locals said that the government is very corrupt and no money from tourism trickles down to the people and because of this, some people are very rich while most are extremely poor. There is only one electric company and they charge whatever they want, therefore, the cost of electricity is very expensive. As far as dental related things, I found a lot of things very different from dental services in the States. For example, the US uses water to deliver dental cavity prevention in the form of fluoride. Jamaica doesn’t have a regulated water system and most of the island gets their water from rainwater. So in 1985, the Ministry of Health started putting fluoride in their table salt. This caused a decrease in childhood cavities (97% of all children to less than 20%) over a 10 year period.

Dental services are needed so badly in Jamaica. Most Jamaicans can’t afford private dental care so they have to get public care. Which means first come-first serve and a lot of waiting in lines for unreliable care. There is 1 dentist for every 53,000 people. So you can imagine the lines being VERY long.

This has been such an amazing experience! It has been A LOT of hard work and it was so worth it. All six of us students kept track of how many patients we had and the services we provided them. We calculated the average price in the states for those services. Each of us provided around (some a little under, some over) $20,000 of free dental service to the people of Jamaica this week! That’s at least $120,000 of dental care to people who desperately need it. That was just for the six students, not including the rest of the group of doctors, etc. Most of us are already planning on going back next year and making this a yearly trip we all make. We are so proud to be a part of the Study Abroad program and we are going to be the pioneers for this program to help it become a permanent thing at SPC. We are so lucky to have had this opportunity to represent the SPC Dental Hygiene program.

So sad it’s over…..but I will NEVER take for granted what the US has to offer. It is truly the  land of opportunity.

One love,

Molly Espino, SPC Dental Hygiene Student

WOW is all I can say about my experience so far here in Jamaica!

The need for dental work is so high and it is hard to know that no matter how hard I am working to see as many patients as possible, I will never get through all of the people that are waiting in line outside. I just have been focusing on doing all that I can and the best that I can.

This is a trying time for my body. Even though I am a Floridian, the heat is tough to get used to. I am already adapting to it, however, and working in it is getting easier as well.

The clinic I am traveling to seeing patients at is 1.5 hours away from where we are staying (the others are 10 minutes and 30 minutes away) so I am really getting a good look at the landscape of Jamaica and some of the remote living situations.

The housing is so different from that in the States.They are what we would describe as “shacks” but to them they are the homes they built with their own two hands are extremely proud.

I got to visit a local school today that was near my clinic and talk to the children (grades 1-5) about dental hygiene. They knew A LOT about brushing and flossing and I was really impressed about how much education they are getting about teeth and keeping their teeth healthy.

That has been one of my favorite part so far.

That is the main thing I’ve learned about Jamaicans so far: they are very proud of who they are and what they have and most wouldn’t live life any other way.

It is truly an admirable way of life and makes me TOTALLY re-think my outlook on the life I live. I will never again take for granted the things that I have. I’ll post again later….ONE LOVE!

Molly Espino

The SPC Dental Hygiene students are ready for their Study Abroad program! It is a little over a week before our departure to Jamaica to provide dental work through the Great Shapes! organization. We have spent a lot of time getting donations of both supplies and money and everything is set to go! We have organized all the dental supplies and drove them down to Miami to be shipped to Jamaica so they will be there when we arrive. The six of us are so grateful for this opportunity and we KNOW it’s going to be a life-changing experience. We’ll keep you all posted on our travels! Until next time…..:)