On Monday, February 27th, the San Pedro Smile Center Dental Clinic located at the Holy Cross Anglican School in the San Mateo area of San Pedro Town will again operate following a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The school clinic will welcome volunteers from Mankato State University in Minnesota, USA, for four days. From 8AM-4PM, the volunteering dentists will provide services to students up to 12 years of age. The program includes a second dental clinic at the Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II, that is open to the public, both clinics are free. The professionals will also visit the San Pedro Roman Catholic Primary School for an informative session.
Dr. Mark Johnson from Annandale, Minnesota, USA, founded the Holy Cross Anglican School Smile Center. Over the years, Dr. Johnson and his wife Joan, a dental hygienist, have been organizing and coordinating efforts to run the clinic so that volunteer dentists can come to the San Mateo area to provide dental services to the students. The clinic is fully equipped with modern dental equipment and supplies, all generously donated by healthcare professionals who care about the dental health of Belizean students/children.
The services will be available for children up to 12 years old at the Holy Cross Anglican School, while the visit to the San Pedro Roman Catholic Primary School will be an education session on dental care. This is the university group’s ninth trip to Belize, which will include six doctors and 20 students, and other staff members. To avoid mechanical interruptions during the dental sessions, a dental technician from Minnesota traveled to San Pedro a week before the clinics to service and repair the equipment at the Holy Cross Anglican School and the polyclinic.
Dr. Johnson invites those needing dental services to take advantage of these free clinics and thanked all the volunteers and the partners supporting the project. These include sponsors like Victoria House, Maya Island Air, Carts Belize, and many individual donations.
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