ASDOH faculty impact lives in Vietnam
Posted: December 11, 2014
A.T. Still University-Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) faculty members Drs. Khanh Chu, John Payne, and Mai-Ly Duong, ’12, had the great honor of embarking on a life-changing journey with Operation Smile’s 25th anniversary in Vietnam Mega Mission called “The Next Era of Smiles”. The dental mission was implemented simultaneously with a series of other medical activities during 25 days where the organization focused on more sustainable interventions and programs with broader social impacts.
“In just one day, the teams screened over 870 children who received free cleft repair surgeries and dental services across the five cities in Vietnam,” said Dr. Chu. From November 17-21, Drs. Chu, Payne, and Duong participated in a three-city initiative to provide basic dental care that included cleanings, fillings, and extractions to more than a thousand children, many of whom had never received dental care in their entire lives.
This mission brought together dental professionals from all levels of expertise and experience. This was Dr. Chu’s fifth humanitarian mission trip. “To be able to share my experience with the next generation of dentists in my home country was an extremely rewarding feeling,” said Dr. Chu. “Seeing a smile on a parent’s face after their child is treated for an infection is one of the little things that keep us going in our profession.”
As part of the 25th anniversary in Vietnam, Operation Smile also introduced the first comprehensive research study in 41 provinces to collect data on children born with facial deformities. Operation Smile not only conducted simultaneous medical and dental missions in more than five cities in Vietnam over one week, but also hosted the International Conference of Scientific, Education, and Clinical Dentistry at the Hanoi Medical University. Drs. Chu, Payne, and Duong were among the many distinguished international speakers at the conference.
It was Dr. Chu’s guidance that led Dr. Mai-Ly Duong to volunteer with Operation Smile for the first time. “No matter where you are from, no matter what language you speak, no matter who you are, everyone came together with one common goal – to help improve the health and lives of children,” said Dr. Duong. “This experience touched my heart and re-energized my spirit. Operation Smile – I’ll be back!”
“Operation Smile gave me the opportunity to travel with the most recent mission to Vietnam,” said Dr. Payne. “I feel so fortunate to have been part of this, my first-ever mission. I feel blessed to be a part of the life-changing effect that we had on so many children, but also blessed to experience the life-changing effect those beautiful children had on me. I am looking forward to the next time I can help Operation Smile continue with their fantastic mission to continue making an impact on the world’s children.”
For more photos of the Operation Smile Vietnam mission trip, check out ATSU’s Facebook page.