The stories Robert G. McNeill, D.D.S., M.D., heard from Ukrainian refugees during a recent mission trip to Poland will stay with him for many years to come.
“Hearing stories from patients about sleeping in bomb shelters for months and fleeing their villages but leaving behind loved ones to fight is not something I will forget anytime soon,” Dr. McNeill said. “It made all my own problems seem very small.”
Dr. McNeill and his co-host of the Between Two Teeth YouTube channel, Stephanie R. Ganter, D.D.S., were two members of a volunteer team that provided free dental care to 2,560 refugees from April 22-29 in Warsaw.
“We witnessed, firsthand, the humanitarian crisis that war creates,” Dr. Ganter said. “I’ve never been more moved than by what we saw at the refugee shelter.”
The team — which also included Craig S. Armstrong, D.D.S., ADA 15th District trustee and chair of the ADA Foundation board of directors; ADA staff members Hana Alberti, D.D.S., and Kate Davidoski; Dr. McNeill’s son and pre-dental student David G. McNeill; finance professional Alex Tolksdorf; and EMT Thomas Meehan — partnered with International Medical Relief, a nonprofit organization that brings health care services to underserved and vulnerable people around the world. The team’s work was supported by the International College of Dentists’ Global Visionary Fund, the Henry Schein Cares Foundation and ADA member dentists.
The volunteer dentists performed extractions, fluoride varnish treatments and limited restorative care for the patients, while the other volunteers helped with triage and entertainment for the children.
Source: ADA dentists provide care to more than 2,500 Ukrainian refugees / American Dental Association