Dental Clinic Set Up

We made the journey up into the mountains to set up the dental clinic in Paril, this afternoon. Took the long way in, as the other routes we inaccessible due to the rain and some local construction. Today, it didn't rain, the atmospheric clarity was incredible, and the vistas along the way to Paril were gorgeous. We stopped once ant took some pictures. Everything is so green and lush. There were a couple of places along the way where the road had badly washed out and Pursing's van bottomed out, but we were able to get through with no apparent damage. I tell yah, that Toyota van is one tough piece of machinery...........My old record for the most people seen on one motor bike was broken today--the old record was five on a single motor bike, but today we saw not one but two different motor bikes with six people on each. Crazy!!!! The set up went pretty well, but one of the dental units has a problem with a leaky three-way syringe, on the water side. This syringe is used for rinsing away debris from the operating field and is very important in helping not only the visibility, but also air-drying cavity preps,and as such is an indispensable piece of equipment. Anyway, what is leaking is the Schrader valve inside the syringe housing. Now this is the very same valve that holds the air in your car tires and resides in the valve stem. A phone call back down the mountain to Tom J. resulted in the acquisition of 6 new Shrader valve assemblies, but we will have to acquire a tool to remove the valve from the syringe tomorrow. There is a big tire store across the street from the Ford's Inn where we are staying, and we will try and get this tool in the morning before we head back to Paril. Tomorrow, we see our first patients.

submitted by Thomas J. Clark, DMD