Dr. Gigi
In Indonesia the word for teeth is gigi–so a dentist is Dr. Gigi. We had our own Dr. Gigi on the recent team. He came from the place on the planet that has had a record snowfall and now he is in the remote islands of Indonesia pulling and filling teeth.
Dr. Paul (Dr. Gigi) was just been amazing as he patiently took a look at the dental needs of each person. He was also there to train the dental support staff. It was fascinating watching him instruct each one of them–they were each at a different skill level.
The bonus was his interpreter, Annie. She was born in Indonesia and moved to America as a young woman. She has family who live in Java. She flew up to the base and was a great help to Dr. Gigi as he instructed his staff. She just stood back until she was needed. She had a very good grip on the more technical part of the language.
He has children come to the dental room who did not want to get close to a dentist and others who just opened their mouths and came out smiling. I saw the first boy who came to see the dentist and his dental needs were major. There was another that needed the best part of three days to help his mouthful of cavities.
I could see the confidence of the dental staff increase as each day passed. Dr. Paul let them assist and even do some of the work under his tutelage. The staff is learning the practical experiences and upgrading their skills–step-by-step.