Father And Son Duo Participate in Mission Trip to Jamaica

Visiting the Caribbean is not an unusual February destination for those of us holed up on the East Coast. Jamaica beckons with blue skies, sunny days and crystal blue waters. 

Periodontist Dr. Anthony Ienna and his son Joseph’s trip to Jamaica was a little different - well more like “pulling teeth” - 550 teeth to be exact.

Dr. Ienna, who is also an assistant clinical professor at Stony Brook, learned about the mission from one of his former students, Dr. Albert Yoo. The mission was in conjunction with the North Shore Baptist Church in Bayside.

The church has adopted the Buff Bay area and has visited yearly for the last several years. Buff Bay is a small seaside community on Jamaica's northeast coast. The area is one of the most fertile regions on the island and is cultivated by hundreds of small coffee and banana farmers.

Dr. Ienna and his son, both Garden City residents, worked at the Buff Bay Community Hospital Dental Clinic where supplies and funds are short but demand is high. When local residents heard the news of the mission, lines formed outside of the clinic all day. The clinic performs extractions but they limit them to one tooth per patient. Multiple extractions were performed during their stay.

“In this country you would never pull out someone’s front teeth and not immediately replace them,” shared Dr. Ienna. “We did that over there. When you’re in pain, especially that kind of pain you’re looking for relief. Unfortunately, many of the patients do not have the funds to travel to Kingston, the largest city in Jamaica, for further dental work.”

For five straight days, Dr. Ienna, Joseph and Dr. Yoo worked diligently and pulled out a total of 550 teeth.

“No amount of brushing can make up for diet,” said Dr. Ienna. “Next year we would like to focus some time on education in the schools.”

Sugar in the form of sodas and candy are consumed in high amounts by the local residents. Processed foods are also popular. Dr. Ienna also noticed that a popular soda contained 100 grams of sugar compared to sodas sold in the U.S., which typically contain 60 grams.

The extractions were no easy feat. Dr. Ienna along with Dr. Yoo brought along suitcases full of supplies including forceps, needles, numbing solution and lidocaine.

Dr. Ienna, who specializes in periodontics and implant dentistry, also performed gum surgery on one patient. The patient was grateful to receive treatment since she was on a waiting list and wasn’t scheduled for surgery until August.

“It was quite rewarding spending time with my son and helping others,” Dr. Ienna said. “He was my right hand man. He read all of the medical histories to me.”

“I did get to the beach once but I felt like I was making a difference and I was busy,” Joseph shared. “I had a lot of responsibility and I took my job seriously.”

For Joseph, a Garden City High School sophomore, it was a valuable and telling experience though it wasn’t his first mission trip. Last summer he participated in a mission trip to volunteer at the Los Angeles Central City Community Outreach Center.

The father and son duo are intent on visiting and helping residents of Buff Bay again next year.