As a second-generation orthodontist, Dr. Drew Lombardi had an orthodontic practice in Fort Lee and Jersey City, New Jersey for 40 years until his transition to retirement in October 2023. Considering how to spend his time in retirement, Dr. Lombardi was eager to use his professional knowledge to give back to people in need.
“When I was in practice, as a way to serve the community I performed dental screenings in local schools and participated in the AAO Donated Orthodontic Services program (now Gifted Smiles),” says Dr. Lombardi. “As a retiree, I liked the idea of doing humanitarian work in other countries – but the issue you encounter is that organizations with overseas programs want general dentistry services and long-term commitments, because that is what people in very poor regions need.
“It was difficult to find something fitting my skill set, or welcoming to an orthodontist,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “I didn’t wish to personally do the restorative work myself on these young children, not having done it in 40 years.”
After contacting a few non-profit service organizations, he connected with Globe Aware, which focuses on international volunteerism for individuals and groups such as health professionals, construction workers, educators and business experts.
Globe Aware volunteers bring a variety of skills to places where they are needed. The organization arranges volunteer experiences, for one week or longer, in countries such as Peru, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Romania. Working with Globe Aware, Dr. Lombardi developed a plan to help children using his knowledge of dentistry.
“I went to Cuzco, a large city in Peru, and the starting point to reach Machu Picchu, which gave us access to rural areas of Peru where many residents lack awareness and resources for oral health,” he says. “Globe Aware’s local coordinator served as my interpreter with knowledge of both Spanish and the native Incan (indigenous) language spoken in the rural communities. Globe Aware hired a driver and we traveled to villages located up to two hours away.”
As Dr. Lombardi had expected, in conducting dental screenings at schools he found many children with severe dental problems, including rampant caries, abscesses and need for extractions. Living conditions usually included a lack of running water in homes and a cultural preference for beverages such as sweetened tea and soda, in the students’ water bottles that they brought to school. Many adults were unaware how these choices impacted children’s dental health.
Starting the Process of Improved Oral Health in Rural Villages
“Through Globe Aware, I networked with dentists in nearby towns and arranged to pay for the needed services for those I identified as having the most severe dental needs,” says Dr. Lombardi. “It does take time to gain trust from everyone you meet in these communities. When we would ask to have children brought to school on a Saturday morning for transportation to a dentist, not all of the kids showed up. When we followed up to ask why, responses included that some of the parents could not take off work, or that the kids had to take the sheep to the mountains.”
Oral health presentations that Dr. Lombardi offered at schools with the help of his interpreter included distribution of toothbrushes and toothpastes. He found the students enthusiastic and receptive to his information and the dental care products. Many students did not own toothbrushes.
“Before the school presentations, Globe Aware’s coordinator, Rocio, took me to a Walmart-like store where I purchased cases of toothbrushes and toothpaste to give away,” says Dr. Lombardi. “It turned out that these gifts were helpful in convincing many boy students to be examined.
“It will require regular effort over a long period to get the rural communities committed to both oral hygiene and visiting dentists,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “I found it very rewarding to start the process of educating people in the villages and educating the school principals and teachers. For the teachers, I brought thank-you gifts of popular U.S. magazines, which they enjoyed.”
Following his introduction to international humanitarian work in Peru, Dr. Lombardi spent two weeks in the Galapagos Islands. That portion of his trip included volunteer work in sea turtle conservation, also through Globe Aware.
Dr. Lombardi suggests that the approach he used for humanitarian work could work well for retired orthodontists as well as those in practice who are interested in spending a vacation doing humanitarian work.
“It was very exciting to me to find a way to use my knowledge of dentistry to help young people in a very poor region,” says Dr. Lombardi. “I really appreciated Globe Aware’s help, organization and flexibility that made this possible.
“The main reason I wish to share this, in addition to helping Globe Aware gain exposure, is to inform other AAO members that we DO have skills to share internationally,” adds Dr. Lombardi. “Our years of experience in dentistry, and ability to screen and examine patients quickly, permits us an opportunity to take that on the road internationally – and without doing dental procedures that we haven’t done in 40 years!”
Dr. Lombardi points out that the need for help is massive. Many young children in numerous countries have great need, no access to dental care, and no knowledge of the impact of lack of oral hygiene, especially when combined with heavy sugar intake.
“For AAO members, there are enormous rewards from doing this work,” he says. “Just going and teaching dental hygiene, warning of the negative effects of all those sugars, and their direct cause of dental pain leading to a lifetime of future trouble, is a wonderful and rewarding experience. By helping me partner with local dentists, Globe Aware helped me bring much needed assistance to this problem. By paying for the local dentists to do the work, I helped start a ‘dental home’ for the children with the greatest needs. And while I did this work alone, some might consider including staff or family desiring international service experience.”
