Setting up the Dental Clinic

As I said in the previous post, the new room for the dental clinic should be completed well before the dental team arrives in July. In past years, it has generally taken us three days to set up the clinic and prepare for the team’s arrival.

We store the dental chairs, tools, cabinetry, X-ray, piping, compressors, generators, etc. across campus in the bodega. (The new dental clinic is situated adjacent to the bodega.)

Moving the equipment from storage is a time consuming process under the best of circumstances. It takes the combined effort of four men to lift and move each chair.

The children help wherever and whenever they can. They move the lighter dental tools and ancillary equipment. Having their help speeds up the work, but more importantly, it gives us a chance to spend some time with them; something we all enjoy.

Setting the chairs in place, running the piping, and attaching the services requires a level of expertise, so the grunt work is only part of the effort.

Everything has to be washed down and cleaned before the dentists and technicians arrive to set out their tools and set up their work space. Again, the children take an active role in preparing the clinic for the next day’s work.

- Arnie Edelstein