Remote Area Medical (RAM) - Scott County, Tennessee

RAM is a non-profit group who operates solely under donations of time and support to provide medical care to rural areas in the U.S. mainly in Tennessee, and disaster affected areas of the world.

Scott High School, where clinics were held

RAM trucks unloading supplies

I just returned from my first ever RAM trip and it was nothing short of exhausting, inspiring and incredible. I made the 10 or so hour drive down with a few other classmates and we stayed at a church a few miles away from Scott County High School, where the clinic was held.

Friday night was spent settling in but clinic started early Saturday morning at 6:45am. By the time we arrived RAM volunteers had the dental clinics in full swing and patients registered and waiting, while others were already being seen. We were briefed on the way the clinics run, how we review the patient's form, retrieve supplies, complete treatment and complete what was accomplished before handing the patient their form to check out with.

Southern hospitality

Church where we were lodged

I had an amazing assistant Paula, whom stuck it out with me all day Saturday. We started off doing restorative, rebuilding teeth with composites and amalgams. We later switched over to extractions. While the patients were all tremendously grateful and pleasant, the underlying despair was ever present. Patients had waited all night, and toward 5PM, all day to be seen. Many I spoke with talked about their need to care for their families, or had other situations which made dental care close to impossible for them to access. While their situations were desperate, the ability to relieve pain, and restore dentitions that may have soon been lost was incredibly rewarding. One conversation that will stay with me was with one patient we completed a few fillings for who was very phobic and had not been to a dentist in many years. She expressed concern about a small cavity where a previous filling was lost, and said she was scared she would just have to wait to get it pulled. I was taken aback since the cavity was quite small and was easily restored. But the patient explained that sometimes we are so concerned with caring for our loved one that our own bodies are neglected and there may not be resources to care for ourselves. I felt for her and told her it was wonderful meeting her and she expressed her grattitude before heading off with her grandson.

RAM in full swing

The trip really made it clear to me that there's so much to still be done right here in the U.S. to improve oral healthcare. But oral healthcare is so closely related to mental and physical health. I don't doubt the involvement of drugs and mental unrest in many patient's destroyed dentitions.

Sunday Clean-up