CHINA 2018

Hospitality

An important aspect in Chinese culture is to be hospitable to guests. The faculty and staff members at Shantou University spared no expense when it came to ensuring the students had a pleasant experience during their time there. They took it upon themselves to provide personal tours showcasing the best that the Shantou had to offer. Each day came with new unique experiences and always ended with a big feast!

Never missing a workout, Jeff gets his shoulder exercise in as he carries a bag of rice to remote villagers.

Dr. Wang and all the participants performing oral screenings and fluoride varnish application for school children in a remote town in Southern China.

Marri and Kim working together for oral screening and applying flouride.

Students study very hard and eager to learn.

Dr. Jeff Wang giving lecture in the brand new Simulation Lab.

Preclinical endo exercises.

One aspect of the medical training for dentists in China that I thought was interesting was the fact that they are training in medicine in general first, and then in dentistry second.

Dental factories in China find ways to streamline what we do in order to scale up production to meet the demands of its population. The denture factory not only provided dental goods for a large population but served as a means to help factory workers improve their life.

Aaron, Jeff, Hui, Marri, Raymond, and Kim also had the opportunity to join in on a lecture on how to triage and manage emergency trauma patients at Shantou University Medical College. They were all very surprised to see the level of detail in this area of medicine dentist in China receive training in.

Due to his ideal head shape, Jeff proudly volunteers to be an injured patient during a medical emergencies lecture at Shantou University.

Marri makes a new friend from her rural outreach expedition after examining him for cavities.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip for Aaron, Jeff, Hui, Marri, Raymond, and Kim is experiencing the culture in Shantou. In addition to trying out a variety of Chinese dishes and indulging on the local specialties, the group loved walking the streets of Shantou. Aaron, Jeff, Hui, Marri, Raymond, and Kim enjoyed activities such as Gongfu Tea Ceremony, traditional pottery making, and visiting historical sites in Shantou. The biggest surprise to everyone was that even though Shantou is considered to be an average city in China, it is absolutely huge compared to cities in America. The students made great friends and the only regret was that they were unable to stay longer!

“A Chinese proverb says that ‘sticks in a bundle are difficult to break.’ Just as working together, the team becomes stronger. Our time in Shantou has shown on many occasions how the combined efforts of people working collectively can create massive works of creativity, productivity and philanthropy.”

Feasting on local snacks became one of the students’ favorite pastimes.

Dr. Wang and the students keep cool with some tasty coconut juice while exploring the ancient city of Chaozhou.

Exploring an ancient Buddhist Temple with our wonderful tour guide Ethan.

The ancient floating bridge connects two parts of the ancient city of Chaozhou. The bridge was never completed due to budget issues and boats were strung together to complete the project.

The students and Dr. Wang suck in their bellies to pose for a post meal group picture. Hai Di Lao is a popular hotpot chain in Asia.

One of my favorite part of the Shantou trip was working with the students. This was their first time taking impressions on each other and the results were comical. The exercise ended with all smiles.

Students listen intently as Kim explains functional anatomy during a waxing exercise. Instead of building up wax, students in Shantou University carve down wax from blocks into extremely accurate teeth.

Another fun memory was the nights of eating like kings. From street food to hotpot and barbeques, there was never a day short of taste bud adventures. China is a food haven and because Shantou is a port city, there was a myriad of seafood.

One of the most unique experiences of our Shantou trip was our visit to the prosthestics factory, where we witness mass scale production of crowns, implant-retained dentures, and bridges. The factory was located in Shenzhen, one of the biggest cities in China. There was literally over 1,500 work orders delivered every single day. The building even housed an on-site training program for technicians. I was really surprised by how high tech everything was compared to the labs in Michigan. If the sheer number does not amaze you, the efficiency and detail to every shade of color hand painted onto crowns surely will. This was nothing like I’ve ever seen before.

This outreach activity showed me that one of the most difficult aspects of dentistry is how to accurately and effectively explain to patients, in a succinct manner, how oral diseases develop. This will be a skill that I will continue to practice and develop throughout my career as a dentist.

No matter where you are in the world, taking impressions with alginate is going to be a messy process! One of the funnest experiences I had at Shantou was helping the dental students with taking their first dental impressions on their best friends!

The school for medical students have training stations with mannequins with blinking eyes that simulate vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rate!

Trying out the sophisticated virtual reality dental procedure simulator in the new school building at Shantou University.

While I visited the denture factory in ShenZhen, I couldn’t help but to marvel at the efficiency of the fabrication process and the quality of the work that is produced. Each factory worker is specialized in his or her specific step in the process of making dentures and crowns and were masters of their craft.

Exploring the different architecture of China felt like walking through time. I was able to vicariously experience eras of culture from the fruits and incense placed in front of temples to the hanging red lanterns scattered across the ceilings. Although I was born in the United States, part of my heritage is in Southern China, a place I had never been to until now. It was such an eye opening opportunity for me to get in touch with my roots.

One of the most rewarding experience I had during this trip was to utilize my knowledge and skills in dentistry to help people with little to no access to care. Experiences like these remind me of why I chose this profession.

EKG training for the masses! I was somewhat envious of all the technologically advanced equipment students at Shantou University got to enjoy. I think our cardiology course at UofM would benefit from similar exercises.

Students examined mannequins with built in vital signs that simulated all types of potential pathologies. Dentistry is very integrated with medicine in China and students must go through a complete medical education before they are taught dentistry.

I was surprised to find that cats were the popular pet in Shantou! Not only are they cute and cuddly, they serve to ward off pests from local storefronts.

We couldn’t be in the porcelain capital of the world without trying our hands at pottery making. Like dentistry, pottery making can be very technique sensitive, messy, and will test your patience!

Hui and Kim are impressed by how quickly Jackie is able to replicate the buccal cusp of a maxillary second premolar.

Hui experiments with a virtual crown prep simulation at the Shantou University Sim lab.

We gave them a lecture about how to make alginate impressions. Aron even took an impression on Raymond and then demonstrated techniques for the students there. All of their dental students were excited to take their first impressions on each other in dental school.

We gave the lecture about TMJ disorder, which is an underdiagnosed disease in China. Three of us did scenario cases (One of us acted as a TMJ patient, one of us as a dentist, and the third student as a narrator) in order to help them learn and understand. Students were engaged in the topic and showed lots of interest.

We visited one of the largest dental schools in China, called Zhongshan Dental School. The dean of the dental school gave us a tour at one of the local community dental clinics and lots of other specialty clinics, such as pediatric/endo/ortho clinics. We got a good general idea of Chinese local clinics from this Guangzhou trip.

We practiced Taichi with Shantou Dental School’s Faculty on the platform during the lecture break. It’s a popular exercise in China. We also joined students in the morning stretching exercises while we volunteered as dental providers at the local middle school. We had a great time from learning about Chinese culture.

We had an amazing night view from the pearl river cruise tour with Shantou University’s faculty while in Guangzhou. We also watched wonderful entertainment shows on the cruise.

Shoutou Dental School’s deans, professors and students gave us a warm welcome on our first day of visiting the main campus.

All of the students made each of us a souvenir card and wrote the kind messages for us. Hopefully they will have a chance to visit our dental school soon.

This was my first time in China, so I loved trying all the foods there. There was a large variety of flavors and types of food that we tried. One of my favorite meals was actually when our group went and bought roasted duck and brought it back to the apartment and played cards in while eating it. Not only was it super delicious, but it was a super fun experience with the group

I adore little kids, so I was always super excited to meet the kids over in China. In the lower picture, Aaron and I met a few students on their way to school. They were really shy, but eventually warmed up for the camera.

We were able to sit in one the students’ classes, where they were learning how to respond to medical emergencies. After a quick presentation from the professor, the class split up and practiced bandaging each other up. The students were great and included us in on it all. Here, a student and I helped bandage Aaron up and put is arm in a sling.

One day our group took a trip to Chaozhou, which is known for its ceramic pottery. We fortunate enough to make our own pottery. We even got to bring the pottery home as a souvenir.

We also visited a temple, a pottery museum, and many stores.

I loved my trip to China. I learned so much about the culture, about their dental education, ate a lot of new foods, and learned a lot about myself. But above all, I made some really great friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to travel with!

One of the many great parts of our trip was getting to see the newly built facilities of the dental school in Shatou, including their simulation lab. This room was perfectly suited for preclinical work. I really enjoyed getting to use the equipment and loved to see that although we come from differnet paces, the work we do is still very similar.

During our trip we were tasked with giving presentations on a number of dental and non dental topics. I really enjoyed teaching the students about growing up in Michigan and loved getting to speak with them about our differnet upbringings.

While touring the schools in Shantou, we had a wonderful time partaking in the students’ morning routine of stretching before class. It felt great to get our blood pumping before we started our oral screenings and it was nice to have some fun with the younger students.

A valuble lesson learned while on this trip was that many of the health disparities affecting the US are present worldwide. During our oral screenigns, we found many children with extensive untreated dental needs.

My absolute favorite part of our trip to China was visting a large commercial dental laboratory. It was fasciniating to see the quality and quantitiy of the work the lab does and watch their skilled technician create prostheses. After visiting labs in the US, I was very pleased to see the similiarites between our workflows and theirs, but it was also interesting to spot differneces.