12 Aspen Dental volunteers – including five dentists, two hygienists, two lab technicians and three dental assistants – recently traveled into the Andes Mountain to the village of Quiquijana, Peru to provide free dental care to those desperately in need. Over the course of four days, the Aspen Dental volunteers provided free dental care to more than 500 Peruvians.

From extractions to cleanings and fillings to fabricating dentures, Aspen Dental team took part in a mission to alleviate the most urgent dental needs and to improve the oral health of the residents. As a developing country, Peru doesn’t have sufficient resources to provide quality dental services – the team of dentists and hygienists performed care without running water or electricity, and had patients sit in camping chairs and plastic lawn chairs to receive treatment. Translators helped determine patients’ needs and the team went to work performing a total of 645 extractions, 137 fillings, 102 cleanings and making 26 pairs of dentures. 

The village of Quiquijana is a remote area outside the capital of Peru and many live in impoverished conditions – making not even $7 a day – and are unable to travel or afford dental care. There is only one dentist per 10,000 Peruvians leaving the majority without access to any preventative or restorative care.

A blog post with additional information on the trip can be found here. For more information about Aspen Dental, visit aspendental.com.