DTUS2010

Interview DENTAL TRIBUNE | September 20106A verge of death from their dental problems. I learned that no dental care was available in the entire province. Thus, I decided to start a dental clin- ic to provide basic dental treatment, and a training program to train the orphans and widows to be dental technicians. What did you do then? I purchased a 40-foot steel, shipping container and spent 18 months mod- ifying it into a modern, three-chair dental office that was completely self-contained with its own water and power. Then I shipped it, along with 120,000 pounds of other equip- ment and supplies, to Afghanistan on a cargo ship. When it arrived in Pakistan, I flew to Kabul to look at the site for the clinic that was donated by an Afghan cabinet minister. I went to the land site, but I had been deceived; I found that it was not available. For the next six weeks, I searched for another site, but in the end, I had to return the shipment to America or lose it to the minister, who was spon- soring the shipment. It took almost a year to locate another site. I shipped it again, and this time the shipment became hung up on the Pakistan- Afghanistan border for almost four months. When it was released, it was the dead of winter. I had to work outside setting up the clinic during the coldest part of the Afghan winter. The house on the property had no heat, water or elec- tricity. My fingers were frostbitten and I lost about 15 pounds. By the time I was finished in Jan- uary, the cold winter had frozen all of the pipes in the clinic, and I had to leave everything and come back later. Returning in May, I hired an Afghan dentist and an assistant, and opened the clinic to the public. How has this worked out? Good. We operated the clinic with one dentist for about a year, then hired two more dentists and began training orphans and widows as dental technicians. In the first year of the school, we were able to train dental assistants, laboratory techni- cians and dental hygienists. We recently opened three more operatories, and now the clinic is treating about 50 patients a day. Our commercial dental laboratory is now open as well, providing removable prosthetics for patients in our clinic. Also, our guesthouse is now avail- able to people who want to volunteer their services by teaching or provid- ing treatment. Most people would think that Afghanistan is a scary place to be right now. Is this true? There is some element of risk there, but risk also exists in our own soci- ety. About 100 miles from where I live in the United States is the mur- der capital of America: Compton, Calif. I go there on a regular basis to pick up donated supplies from a dental supply company. There is an element of risk in every area. Recently, an attempted car bomb- ing occurred in New York City. I have never felt at risk in Afghanistan. We have never had a problem at our facility in Kabul. I have a motorcycle that I use daily, when I am there. The Afghan people are warm and friend- ly, and appreciate what I am doing there. They have nothing, but are very generous with what they have. How would you characterize the life in Afghanistan today? Life is very hard now in Afghanistan. The average life span is 42 years, due to the harsh conditions of life, lack of health care and a 70 percent level of malnutrition. Only 15 percent of the populace can read and write. Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, and 20 percent of children die before age 5. So many adults have died that there are 3,000,000 orphans, with the aver- age age of the population being 14 years. Most children believe that life is not worth living. Ninety percent of Afghan citizens have no access to dental care, and most have never had a toothbrush. There is one den- tal X-ray machine in all of Afghani- stan. How can these conditions exist in our modern world? When Afghanistan was attacked by the Soviet Union, anyone who could afford to leave the country did so with the entire family. These privi- leged people were also the elite of the country: the intellectuals, people with technical knowledge, all the elements making up the infrastruc- ture. When they left, they took the heart out of Afghanistan. What was left were the poor people, with no means to survive or maintain their lives. This is the way it is there now. The Afghan people feel that the world has forgotten them. They need to know that people care. How can people help? Donations can be mailed to ADRP, P.O. Box 734, Santa Barbara, Calif., 93102. Those who want to become supporting members can access our AD f DT page 1A g DT page 9A