Dental Team on the Ground!

Raise your hand if you grew up watching The Toothbrush Family cartoon short during Captain Kangaroo in the 1970s. Now hum along if you still remember the theme song — sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice:

Brush your teeth                                                                                                                     
Round and round                                                                                                                       
Circle small                                                                                                                             
Gums and all 

A small, soft toothbrush the round and round way                                                                     
Will keep your gums healthy and stop tooth decay                                                                     
So clean very carefully three times a day                                                                                     
Go round and round…

(From Trish - I found the song on YouTube. It's a real blast-from-the-past!)

Now that we’re all psyched about oral health, let’s talk about how that enthusiasm showed up in Gracias this week!

Dr. Annette, a Pittsburgh-based dentist and longtime friend of the Sowers4Pastors ministry, spent the past week in Honduras with a team of dedicated volunteers. She graciously took time out of her busy schedule to share some updates—and there’s a lot to smile about.

This isn’t her first rodeo. Dr. Annette began serving in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, first visiting Guanaja in 1999, where she met the Sowers family. When they relocated to Gracias, she followed — and has returned nearly every year since, usually with a crew of dental students in tow. This year, she brought 16 students from the University of Pittsburgh and was joined by a dentist from Tennessee who answered a call from the Christian Dental Society.

As she explained, “I like to have one dentist for every 5 to 6 students. That way, each student gets hands-on experience with strong supervision.”

Also joining the team? Alejandro’s sister, Dr. Samantha, a Honduran dentist. She came with her baby and her mom, who kindly babysat while Samantha got to work. Though she’d assisted other dentists before, this was her first time mentoring dental students — and she loved it!

Although exact numbers are hard to pin down, the team estimates they treated around 300 patients across two locations. Most of the people they saw had toothaches or visible cavities — especially in their front teeth. Dr. Annette explained that this is common in Honduras, where brushing habits can be inconsistent and sugary frozen treats are a favorite.

But the benefits of this week extended far beyond tooth extractions and fillings. Dr. Annette emphasized how valuable these trips are for the students:

“It gives them real-world experience and opens their eyes to volunteering and missions. A lot of times, you can see God more clearly on these trips. For people of faith, it deepens their faith. For others, it might get them thinking about Christianity.”

 - posted by Christi