Honduras

3/15/2009 6:00:00 AM Well-equipped to make a difference

This is just a fraction of the supplies Drs. John (left) and Kate Schacherl (right) are taking to Honduras. In the middle is dental assistant Jean Drs. John and Kate Schacherl and dental assistant Jean Foley look over photos of Honduras. Kelsey Dionne Verona Press correspondent Drs. John and Kate Schacherl can turn a bare room into a fully functional dental clinic in 20 minutes. The father-daughter team from Main Street Dentists knew that when their mission group arrived in Siguatepeque, Honduras, for its mission this week, there would be a line of children going out the door. They’d need equipment that could be transported easily and set up quickly. Not only that, there were the third-world conditions in Siguatepeque (“see-gwah-tay-PECK-ay”) to consider – no piped-in water or air compressors, just a bare room and a few electrical outlets. So they spent hours and hours over the past few months making two “dental carts” out of vacuum machines and modified equipment, trying to build something that would replicate the systems they used every day in Verona. “It was like a dental yard sale downstairs,” Kate said with a laugh. “We were just building things and modifying things and made so many trips to Home Depot or Farm and Fleet.” The result was portable, wheeled cabinets that simply need to be plugged into the wall to provide water, suction and all the cornerstone functions for dental work. With these, the Schacherls could have a clinic running in minutes. They practiced packing their bags full of gear and dental supplies. Some of it, including six gallons of clean water, they shipped ahead of time. They took the loaned $10,000 digital X-ray machine and other delicate equipment down by hand Saturday, along with rolling suitcases and tackle boxes full of donated products. And now that they’re there, the Schacherls, along with dental assistant Jean Foley and dental hygienist Kari Gollup, are the first dental mission to travel to Siguatepeque through Sharing Resources Worldwide, a Madison-based humanitarian nonprofit. The Schacherls’ longtime friend and patient, Mary Dowling, is a co-founder of the organization, which sends medical professionals and donated supplies to third-world countries. When she was in their office last October, she asked if they would like to do a dental mission. She was booking the tickets for Honduras in two days – could they decide by then? Five months later, the Schacherl team was setting up a dental clinic in a stripped-down medical center attached to an orphanage in Siguatepeque. And all the team would have to do was plug in the “dental carts” and bolt an X-ray machine to the wall. “That’s two bolts. It’s the only thing we’ll have to drill holes for,” John said. Well, that doesn’t count tooth fillings, something they hoped they would be doing lots of during the weeklong mission, because those and root canals are preferable to pulling teeth for good, they said. And for many residents of Siguatepeque, a lush city tucked high into the mountains, this is their first chance to visit a dentist. To ease the communication gap, the Schacherls practiced Spanish phrases. They accumulated coloring books and Spanish storybooks for the long lines of kids. They went to classes to learn about new restorative dental techniques. And throughout the process, their enthusiasm for the trip became contagious. Patients wished them good luck; other dentists asked how they could get involved. Many even said that they wanted to go on the next mission trip. With such a response from the community, the Schacherls didn’t have to pull any teeth to get donations. Orascoptic in Madison donated two headlights, and Gendex lent them the expensive digital X-ray machine. Area dentist Dr. Frank Guttman donated a sanitization machine. When sales representatives came into the office, Kate just turned on her sunny smile to persuade them to get involved. A representative from Henry Schein Dental kept coming back with boxes and boxes of product. Another company donated enough sealants for 1,000 children. The Schacherls didn’t know if they would see that many kids, so they planned to leave the extra products and the “dental cabinets” in Siguatepeque for future missions. “Some of the stuff we’re taking down is more advanced than some people in the States have,” Kate said, holding up the digital X-ray machine, a plastic blue box about the size of a paperback novel. The miniature device produces instant results on a laptop without the chemicals or development time required by other, larger X-ray machines. Between the community’s donations and the gear they crafted themselves, the Schacherls had everything they needed. “With the equipment we’re taking, we’re hoping to be able to do almost anything (there) we can do here,” John said.