Pacific Dental Services (PDS) said it is proud to join the Points of Light organization in celebrating National Volunteer Week (April 17-23, 2022), with a special nod to the service that one PDS team recently provided in Guatemala.
For the first time in more than two years, 10 PDS team members and supported clinicians volunteered their time and traveled to Xenacoj, Guatemala, to provide oral healthcare at the PDS Foundation Clinica Dental.
The clinic was established in 2015 to respond to the widespread need for oral healthcare. More than half of Guatemala's population experiences poverty in some form, and 13% live in extreme impoverished conditions. Dental disease affects more than 16 million people in the country, PDS said in a news release.
PDS-supported dentists, dental assistants, volunteers, and students from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala served alongside the clinic's dentist, Dr. Rodrigo Letona Barillas. More than $172,000 in donated dentistry and care to 165 patients was provided, PDS said.
