Fall is in the air – pumpkin spice lattes, colorful leaves and crisp mornings abound. It’s a welcome relief from the hot summer days. Though it seems several months away, spring break is just around the corner. After the festive holidays, cold grey days can seem endless and one will likely be craving a sunny destination. Volunteering with Global Dental Relief this March is a great Spring Break alternative for anyone looking to give back and travel the world.

Sneak peek at a day of sightseeing at one of our clinics in Cambodia!

This year, Global Dental Relief offers two spring break alternatives for students and families looking for a unique Spring Break vacation. In March of 2019, GDR will be hosting clinics in Siem Reap, Cambodia as well as Antigua, Guatemala. Both clinics are perfect for those seeking a once-in-a-lifetime adventure this Spring Break.

Enjoy the sights and flavors of Cambodia with tropical fruits and Khmer cuisine.  Volunteer teams stay at the lovely Shinta Mani Resort, one of the top hotels in Southeast Asia, and spend their off days exploring the Angkor Wat temples and the Terrance of Elephants. Shopping, fish pedicures, and relaxing by the saltwater pool are just a few other things to enjoy while in Cambodia.

At the clinic, volunteers are greeted by eager children who are excited to visit the dentist! As each child moves through the clinic, they bow and smile in gratitude. Without a doubt, the kids are the best part of any clinic.

This year, our clinic in Guatemala coincides with one of the most beautiful times of year – lent. Volunteers explore adorned Catholic churches and witness processions as they promenade through the cobblestone streets. This offers a true cultural experience for any Spring Break getaway.

In Guatemala, the clinic is nestled in the quaint colonial town of Ciudad Vieja – the first capital of Guatemala. The children are all smiles as they wait in line outside of the clinic. When it’s their turn, they hop into the dental chair with much excitement ready to practice English with the “gringo” dentist or hygienist. After the clinic ends, volunteers enjoy a relaxing weekend away at beautiful Lake Atitlan before heading home.

A glimpse of beautiful Lake Atitlan.

When planning a Spring Break vacation, nothing competes with the life-changing adventure of attending a Global Dental Relief clinic. Take the trip of a lifetime and come experience Spring Break in a whole new way!

Join us in Cambodia March 3^rd-21^st, or in Guatemala March 22^nd-31^st. Register now before it’s too late – spots are filling up fast! Click HERE to sign-up.

Call our office at 303.858.8857 or EMAIL us today to learn more about how you can give back this Spring Break!

The post Experience Spring Break in a Whole New Way! first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

Do you have a passion for volunteering and dental care? Consider joining Global Dental Relief on a volunteer trip to one of five developing countries where we provide vital dental care for children. Volunteers are the backbone of the work we do – treating as many as 800 children in the course of a week with complete dental care. We promise it will be a life-changing experience. Learn more below about how you can get involved to help children live happier, healthier lives!

Global Dental Relief provides life-changing dental care to children in Nepal, Guatemala, Ladakh, Kenya and Cambodia. Many times, the children we treat don’t have access to dental care. By establishing mobile dental clinics in these areas – and committing to seeing the same kids year after year – volunteers are able to make a significant impact in lives of children worldwide. As a volunteer with Global Dental Relief, here is what you can expect to experience when you participate in a clinic:

• Saving the smile of a child: This is our main goal and one of the most rewarding experiences you can have! Children come in to the clinic in profound pain and with infection. Volunteers address all areas of the mouth in the clinic – the child walks out visibly changed – smiling brighter and free of pain and infection!

• Hands-on experience: While working in one of our dental clinics, you will be surrounded by dental professionals who offer meaningful guidance and knowledge into the world of dental care.

• Lifelong friendships: What could be better than interacting with other passionate, like-minded, energetic and hard-working individuals. People who choose to volunteer share a common thread that is the basis for lifelong friendships. How about establishing genuine connections that will last a lifetime?

• New cultures: The regions where our clinics are set up offer one-of-a-kind experiences and interactions with the local culture. These interactions do not happen from a tour bus, they happen while working side by side with the local partners and families of the children we see in the clinic.

• Newfound appreciation: As citizens of a developed country, we have access to dental care any time we need it. We may not like going to the dentist, or we may find it expensive, but we have the ability to get treatment. Volunteering in a GDR clinic, gives you a deep appreciation for dentists and other medical professionals, and for the quality of care available to each of us.

The volunteer experience is one that is hard to explain. The culture, the children, and the communities you encounter during your time as a volunteer with Global Dental Relief are unforgettable!

Learn even more about volunteering with us and how you can start your application. Contact our office today at email: volunteer@globaldentalrelief.org or call 303-858-8857.

The post The Volunteer Experience: What Is It Like to Volunteer with Global Dental Relief? first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

Theresa arrived in Antigua, Guatemala, not sure what volunteering would look like. This was nothing like past “vacations” where you sit on a beach and drink margaritas. She had a different focus in mind – to help children in the Guatemalan Highlands live happier, healthier lives.

Theresa Tran, RDH got her degree in hygiene from the Community College of Denver in the spring of 2012. She always dreamed of using her education for a greater good. When she learned about Global Dental Relief — a Colorado-based non-profit that sends volunteers overseas to provide dental care — there was no question that she wanted to sign up for a trip!

That was six years ago. Since then, Theresa has volunteered in Nepal, Cambodia and Kenya with Global Dental Relief, sharing her passion and skills with children around the world.

Theresa pictured with children in Guatemala.

This spring she will return to Guatemala with a team of five dentists, two other hygienists and a handful of general. The mission – to help 700 children improve their oral health. The team will spend the week giving dental exams, cleanings, restorations and extractions, to children who otherwise lack access or resources to receive dental care.

Theresa reflects: “Every time I volunteer with GDR, I feel grateful being part of a team that extends the quality of life for so many children, for their families, and even the village. I believe that we provide more than just a visit to the dentist. We are making an impact that extends from one child to another, from one family to another.”

Like Theresa, Kathy Pidcock, RDH was looking to share her specialty with the world, to do something bigger than herself. Kathy entered the healthcare industry over thirty years ago with the aim to help people become healthier through education and good oral habits. Deep inside she always wanted to reach people who would never experience the dental care that so many of us take for granted.

As a hygienist, Kathy found this opportunity through GDR, first in Guatemala in 2014 and then in Kenya and Nepal. One of the things that struck Kathy as both a volunteer and trip leader is that all dental equipment and supplies are provided, volunteers only need to bring their enthusiasm and open hearts to the clinic.

Kathy pictured with patient and local assistant in Nepal.

“Working with Global Dental Relief was easy; the group is so well organized,” Kathy says. “I was completely at ease traveling to Guatemala for my first volunteer experience. I have since returned to Guatemala three times, first as a volunteer and now as a trip leader. I highly recommend this organization to fulfill a dream of being part of helping children with their oral health.”

As a trip leader, she flies in a few days before the volunteers to set up the clinic and ensure populations of children are ready to be seen. The result is a well-oiled machine, in which 100 plus children receive complete dental care each day.

After a week of hard work and many smiles, volunteers who arrived strangers, are now lifelong friends, connected by their common mission to help children live happier, healthier lives.

Sarah Muller, another Colorado hygienist learned about GDR at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention. She was moved by the stories of past volunteers and wanted to be involved in travel that gives back. With GDR’s 22 clinics a year in Nepal, India, Kenya, Cambodia and Guatemala, it was hard to know where to go first. The following spring, Sarah joined a Guatemala clinic reuniting with other volunteers who had been in Nepal.

“I highly recommend any dental professional to do this at some point in their lives. It’s truly an incredible feeling when you find out how many children’s lives you have influenced just by volunteering for a week. It is also a wonderful way to experience different cultures and do some traveling. I love that GDR always has the option after clinic to do something cultural and open your eyes to many ways of life. Guatemala was a trip of a lifetime!”

Sarah pictured with children in Guatemala.

These three Colorado humanitarians echo the same sentiment — “There is nothing like witnessing firsthand the difference dental care can make in a child’s life. It’s a gift you have that can change the lives of thousands of children for the better. What are you waiting for?”

You can join Theresa in Guatemala this fall, or Kathy in Guatemala in July –don’t wait! Join us and see the world as you’ve never seen it before! You don’t have to be a dentist to volunteer!

For more information on volunteer opportunities, visit our Global Dental Relief website at: www.globaldentalrelief.org, email: volunteer@globaldentalrelief.org or call 303-858-8857.

The post Colorado Dental Hygienists Help Children in Need in Guatemala first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

Volunteers Serving Children in Need Around the Globe

Dental Care for Kids
Since 2001

Children Served:
146,365

Donated Care:
$30.7 million

Volunteers:
2,358

Seventeen years ago we started this adventure in service–and today Global Dental Relief volunteers remain hard at work delivering critical dental care to children. In 2017, 20,904 children visited GDR clinics in five countries, receiving $4.3 million in donated care.
Our patients are the highlight of this work. We love their shy smiles, excited chattering, and trusting eyes as they reach for the hand of a volunteer. We dedicate this annual report to the children we serve and their beautiful smiles.

Each child we treat receives an average of $210 in direct dental care (US equivalent)

Download PDF of Progress Report March 2018

The post March 2018 Progress Report first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

Global Dental Relief (GDR) is on a mission to provide dental care for those who need it most –children. Childhood is a time to learn, grow, and develop habits that will shape adult life; children who have access to quality dental care develop positive oral health habits that carry over into adulthood.

GDR focuses on dental care for children because:

1. Limited access to care

In many parts of the world, dentists are few and the costs of care often reach beyond the family’s financial abilities. Most children do not visit a dentist regularly, or even at all. For many GDR patients, it is the first time they have access to proper dental care and oral health education.

2. A healthy mouth leads to a healthy life

A child’s smile shares a close association with many other important functions in their body, and oral issues can deeply impact their quality of life. For example, if a child develops a minor cavity but is unable to visit a dentist, the cavity can grow to cause chronic pain which makes eating, sleeping concentrating in school and even speaking uncomfortable. Over time, a child may experience tooth loss and decreased self-esteem. GDR returns every two years to the communities they serve to ensure that children can receive dental care before dental issues inhibit their lives.

3. Educating smiles for a better future

Oral health education and proper dental treatment benefit a child for a lifetime. Dental exams, routine cleanings, fluoride treatments, and restorative dental treatment help provide long-lasting benefits for a child’s oral health. GDR brings dentists, hygienists and general volunteers together to positively impact the life of a child by providing the resources they need for lifelong dental health.

If you are interested in learning more about the mission of Global Dental Relief or would like to join us on one of our upcoming adventures, please feel free to contact us at volunteer@globaldentalrelief.org or 303.858.8857 today!

The post Why Dental Care for Kids? first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

Why volunteer in Cambodia? Here are our top five reasons!

Cambodia was once a quick stop-over on the South East Asia tourist circuit. People came to visit the 12th century Angkor Temple complex just outside of Siem Reap, and then quickly fled to other more comfortable tourist hangouts in Vietnam and Thailand. But today Siem Reap holds its own – at once an international scene and a place of enormous need, it is the perfect town to spend a few weeks volunteering and soaking up life, Cambodian style. There are endless reasons to volunteer in Cambodia, but here are the top five to make this your next adventure:

1.) The People

Cambodian people are gracious and kind. In spite of a dark past, a warm smile awaits visitors and especially those who come to do volunteer work. Cambodians are eager to get to know you, to share their life stories and to welcome you into their culture. They are generous people; you can’t help but feel a sense of connectedness when you are working side by side with our local partners in the clinic. Volunteers get a window into Cambodian life that regular tourists simply cannot access.

2.) Angkor Wat Temple Complex

The Angkor Wat Temple Complex, period. Need I say more? Built in the 12th century and then hidden by jungle for hundreds of years, the Angkor Temple Complex is something to behold. The iconic faces of Bayon and the elaborate red sandstone carvings of Banteay Srei offer a welcome break from daily volunteer work. Group Visiting the temples early in the morning or after the clinic ends in the afternoon, rounds out the perfect day. There is a steamy mysticism in this land of gods; one cannot help but be moved by the numinous essence these temples exude.

3.) The Khmer Children Need You

Although a quick scan of Siem Reap would lead one to believe that the Khmer people are flourishing economically, the sad truth is that the majority of economic resources are squandered by an elite few. There is little access to healthcare or dental care of any kind, except for those who are well off. Joining a volunteer dental clinic with Global Dental Relief means that you will be part of helping more than 600 Cambodian children to better health, in just a week. Without you, these children do not have access to dental care. They need you, so what are you waiting for?

4.) The Food

Siem Reap is a food lover’s paradise, with a lively and varied dining scene. There are endless food options. Try the traditional Fish Amok, or head to an international restaurant for a taste of Kangaroo. You really can’t go wrong in the food department. Street food is delicious and you always have the option of patronizing a restaurant “with a cause.” Several restaurants educate, train and employee former street children and sex workers. Not only are you giving back during the day, but even your meals can serve as a symbiotic function – nourishing you while helping others. Pretty cool, eh?

5.) The Volunteer Experience

And finally, the big secret that those who volunteer understand – you actually get more out of the experience than those you are helping. Yes, it’s true! Something about stepping outside of yourself and focusing wholeheartedly on another person is cathartic, fulfilling and gratifying in a way that escapes description. You have to do it to understand. Volunteers return over and over again, addicted to the positive vibes that are created when you are completely focused on helping others.

Cambodia is waiting for you! Make this your next adventure. To find out more about volunteer opportunities in Cambodia email volunteer@globaldentalrelief.org.

The post THE TOP 5 REASONS TO VOLUNTEER IN CAMBODIA! first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

As Cambodia’s most popular tourist destination, Siem Reap offers a fascinating blend of traditional and modern life. During your work with Global Dental Relief (GDR), you will have many opportunities to experience the unique splendor and culture of Cambodia.

During the time spent in Cambodia, volunteers stay at the Shinta Mani Resort, a boutique hotel that is run by the Shinta Mani Foundation (SMF). Founded to improve the economy and reduce poverty, this nonprofit organization provides free hospitality training to help underprivileged Khmer develop employment-ready skills and experience. The Shinta Mani Foundation improves the lives of villagers by installing wells, providing homes and offering employment opportunities. And now in partnership with GDR, SMF is extending dental care to village children.

A few of the many sites you will see on sightseeing days during your trip include:

• Angkor Wat: One of the largest religious monuments ever built, this temple complex is believed by many to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. The five towers stand as symbols of Mount Meru’s five peaks, and the moat represents the world’s oceans.

• Ta Prohm: Ta Prohm was built in 1186 and over the centuries has been engulfed by the jungle. While other temple structures of the Angkor complex have had their jungle overgrowth removed, Ta Prohm remains largely as it was when it was discovered by French explorers in the 19th century.

• Kampong Khleang: There are three main floating villages in Siem Reap; of them, Kampong Khleang offers the most authentic experience. The village is comprised of several dozen wooden structures–homes, schools, clinics–floating on the river. During the dry season, the village rests on Tonle Lap Lake but will move along the river according to the time of year.

• Cambodian People: One of the most rewarding aspects of volunteering overseas is the opportunity to connect with the local people and culture. Unlike a sightseeing tour, volunteering offers the chance to work side-by-side with the Khmer people and to learn about their way of life. Take the time to get to know your Khmer colleagues and to sit with the kids in the clinic. Our volunteers report that by far, the friendships they form with the local people is the most fulfilling part of the experience.

Learn more about exciting opportunities in Cambodia by reviewing the trip itinerary or contact our office today. We are excited to welcome you aboard our mission to provide much-needed dental care to the children of Siem Reap and offer you a life-changing experience.

The post 4 Reasons to Visit and Volunteer in Cambodia first appeared on Global Dental Relief.

What skills do I need?

Your most valuable assets are an open mind, a sense of humor, and the ability to work hard with other team members. You don’t need to have experience in the field of dentistry. Our volunteers come from all walks of life – students, teachers, business owners, retired professionals. Whether you have formal dental training or not, all volunteers are supported by Global Dental Relief staff from the beginning and are trained in the country.

What should I consider when it comes to cost and logistics?

Volunteers pay a project fee to Global Dental Relief for their experience. This covers supplies, transportation, hotels, most meals and any planned sightseeing included in the itinerary. The cost of the flight is separate. We can help you find airfare as needed.
The project fee depends on the country you visit and is published on the itineraries and cost page of our website. Many volunteers have put together fundraisers to cover some or all of the project fee. Others have found support from friends, family, and local businesses to help cover the cost. Our office is happy to assist you in brainstorming how to fundraise and to offer resources.

What is the Global Dental Relief experience?

It all started with a trip to Nepal in 2001. Since then, our organization has expanded to run 22 projects annually in five countries. In each country, we work with a local partner who acts as a community liaison and ensures we have a safe place to set up our clinic and work. Each project includes six days working in a portal dental clinic, with sightseeing and adventure built into the itinerary. Depending on the country you visit and the adventures you choose to experience, you’ll be abroad for anywhere from 8 to 21 days.

How do I sign up?

Getting signed up is easy. All it takes is a completed application with deposit. From the first time you contact us, you work directly with one of our country coordinators to ensure you are fully prepared for your journey.

Do you have any questions that we haven’t covered here? Feel free to visit our FAQs page, email us or call us at 308-858-8857. We’re happy to help.

The post Commonly Asked Questions About Volunteers on a GDR Clinic. first appeared on Global Dental Relief.