Clinic, day three and four. Interesting. My first patient on Wednesday came in with a severely swollen face. When seated, he said he had been to our clinic last week for treatment but they put him on antibiotics for 7 days and told him to return today. Good call to get antibiotics in the bloodstream before any care. When looking in his mouth he had a swollen abscess the size of a walnut on his right mandible with two broken molars causing the infection. With antibiotics on board, I lanced the abscess and extracted the teeth. My assistant almost got sick when the abscess cut loose! We drained it, cleaned it and sent him on his way. Probably the worst I'd seen in 20+ years. Kinda remarkable, actually. I took pictures, I'll spare you.
The highlight of both days were the twins! Two 15 year old Grenadians with severe decay between their upper front teeth. We see this frequently in developing countries, and if left unrestored the teeth will eventually breakoff at the gum line leaving only the roots and a ruined-for-life smile. Both girls were headed in that direction so I had my work cut out for me. I worked on them for about 3 hours on Wednesday and another 2 on Thursday. The smiles are below. This work will probably change the course of their lives as they grow up. Nice to be a part of that! Definately the highlight of the trip.
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