A chance meeting between a community volunteer and a generous dentist has resulted in much needed dental care being brought to the folks living in the economically-challenged Tepehua neighborhood of Chapala.
Susan Netherton encountered dentist Dr. Alberto Perez at a Rotary celebration. She talked to him about the lack of dental care for the neighbors in the Tepehua barrio that sits on a hill overlooking Chapala. Perez offered free dental care once a month to the people registered with the Tepehua Community Center.
Center President Moonie King invited Perez to the center, and on Sunday, May 6, the first batch of patients met the doctor. He performed root canals, tooth extractions, fillings, cleanings and all manner of dental treatments from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. According to King, who assisted the dentist, the whole thing felt like a M.A.S.H. unit, with the dining table being used as a dental chair.Said King, “The whole thing went very swiftly and the kids and the Mums were very brave, considering that for most of them, it was their first visit to a dentist.”
Perez has promised to return once each month to the Tepehua Community Center.
King is now on the look-out for anyone with nursing or dental hygiene experience to assist the dentist once a month. She openly admits she is clearly not nurse material. The volunteer work would just be one day a month, on Sundays only, as Dr. Perez has his practice in Ciudad Guzman. Contact King at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..