Dr. and Mamma Bill have recently returned from their first DCF visit to Romania along with a long time missionary dental friend from California. The visit was with the Romanian Evangelical Medical Mission located in a town called Beius about an hour from the border with Hungary.
The purpose of the visit was to support the work of REEM as they offer a multifaceted ministry to the people of Beius. This includes an orphanage, farm project, local church support, feeding program, as well as healthcare outreach. In particular, the gypsy communities in this area are targeted for evangelism and help.
As a former part of the soviet empire, Romania is struggling to be incorporated in the European Union. A small number of the population enjoy a large share of the country’s wealth while the majority struggle to improve their position in society. However, the land is rich and fertile. At one time Romania, was the bread-basket of this part of the world.
Much of the Russian era dentistry that was seen was of poor quality, but fortunately we did not see lots of acute dental need. The gypsy patients had much poorer oral hygiene and more decay due to poor dental education and lack of availability to care.
One of the main blessings of the trip was an opportunity to work alongside a young Romanian dentist. Dr. Ana was eager to learn. She has been out of dental school for several years, but her clinical skills are still developing because of a lack of experience.
In school she read about procedures, but never got a chance to perform many of them.
We left her with an ultrasonic piezo scaler and vacuum to more efficiently offer preventive care along with consumable supplies. A portable restorative delivery system was also donated which we hope will be used on future dental outreach.
