We put smiles on kids' faces too!

Armed with a hockey bag full of equipment, Dr. Olaf Plotzke made his first trip to Antigua, Guatemala with Operation Walk Canada (OWC) in 2016. The bag was brimming with the supplies needed to provide dental care to children in the Central American country – children who didn’t have access to a dentist, and often were unable to eat properly because all that remained of their teeth were tiny nubs with exposed nerves. 

The now-retired London, ON-based pediatric dentist has since gone on four more missions to the impoverished country, expanding his team of dentists, dental hygienists and other volunteers with each trip. The dental program is an extension of OWC’s annual trip to Guatemala to provide hip and knee surgeries to those in need of care.   

The dental clinic is a busy spot. Children and their caregivers arrive daily from villages and orphanages with the hope that they will be seen. In all, about 60 children are treated during each week-long mission, Olaf says.

 “You simply have no idea what will walk through the door,” he says. “It could be as simple as oral pathology, or it could be a five-year old with 15 cavities.” The youngest patient he’s treated was about 18 months who had to have all his baby teeth pulled.

 Olaf also treats children with disabilities, something he specialized in during his nearly five decades of practice. He and his colleagues mainly do extractions, fillings and crowns, as well as promote dental hygiene.

 “The program’s success is thanks to our dedicated volunteers and contributions from dental-related companies and the community,” says Janet Tufts, OWC’s executive director. “This year’s dental team has grown to 12 and is our largest ever, and with inflationary pressures, the need for support has never been greater.” 

“We can’t continue to provide this needed care to children without the generosity of our corporate and individual donors,” she explains.

 For Olaf, the work is both challenging and rewarding. “Some of these children are quite upset because they’re going through treatment they've never experienced before, and they are having a fair amount of work done for their first visit.”

 Despite this trepidation, at the end of the day, Olaf and his fellow dental volunteers continue to be touched by the gratefulness, and smiles, from the children and their caregivers. “It's really charming when you see the appreciation from people with regard to what we can do while we are there.” 

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