Our Work
Missions
2010 Mission
Mission Accomplished
Faces of Tomorrow's second mission was a huge success. We had a few bumps in the begining with our team falling ill, still everyone fought hard to work through the exhaustion and vowed to complete the mission.
In total, we performed surgeries on 50 patients, with 60 total surgical procedures performed. (Some patitents were able to get two procedures done in a single surgery).
In addition, our dental team saw well over 50 patients, peformed 15 filings, 8 extractions, several orthodontal procedures, and they also created and distributed 21 obturators. Obturators are similar to retainers,but their purpose is to plug small holes in the palate that may be inoperable, allowing the patient better speech, as well as keeping food or liquids from coming out through the nose.
We met so many wonderful Ecuadorian families and fell in love with the Ecuadorian children. We heard many heart wrenching stories and had many emotional moments. All of which touched our team deeply and motivated us to continue mission work into 2011 and many years in the future This blog entry by Dr. Albin Leong our Pulominologist gives a sense of the overall mission, the dedication of our team and the wonderful people of Ecuador.
2009 Mission
Our first mission took place in Quito, Ecuador January 9-18, 2009.
With great humility we are thrilled to report that the mission was a huge success. Many lives were changed including every member of our team.
Plans For The Future
Our board is in discussions about additional missions in 2011 and 2012 and we are looking to expand into other countries outside of Ecuador. We are also in the process of developing a collaborative education program in which we will work closely with the local doctors prior to the mission and after the mission. Our goal is to educate them on our procedures and care standards. We believe this will be an integral part of our organization moving forward and will further solidify our international relations.
Faces of Tomorrow In the Press
In early January Sam Ahani, DDS, boarded a plane for a life-changing trip which would take him to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador . Ahani, who co-founded Shore View Dental here in Pacifica with his wife, pediatric specialist Sepi
Patient Stories
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Lucio Parro
Read More: Lucio Parro
Lucio Parro is an active 7-year-old boy who just wanted to be like all the other kids in his village. He came to us with his mother and he had already put a lot of thought into his surgery and those who would help him. -
Oscar's Story
Read More: Oscar's Story
16-year-old Oscar reinforced why we are doing mission work. Oscar was born with a cleft lip and a very large cleft palate. His lip was repaired when he was a baby. His mother told us that she had 6 children and her husband had passed away. She was very poor and having Oscar’s palate repaired was never an option. -
Carmen's Story
Read More: Carmen's Story
Thirty-Nine year old Carmen Rivas touched the heart of every member of our team. Carmen had spent her entire life hiding because of her cleft lip.
FOT Bloggers
- Jim Thompson (4)
- Traci Schmidt (4)
- Dr. Nima Pahlava (3)
- Dr. Brian Rubinstein (3)
- Dr. Albin Leong (3)
- Kristen Kanerva Richards (2)
- Mary Beth Takacs (1)
- Dr. Michael Lovely (1)
- Dr. George Dakkak (1)
- Dr. Charles Shih (2)