Haiti dentists face challenges

Dr. Samuel Prophete—a dentist, educator, leader and father—says he is facing many personal and professional challenges as his family and his country recover from disaster.

The president of the Haiti Dental Association, Dr. Prophete met with ADA leaders in Chicago last month to provide an update on how dentistry in his country has been affected by the Jan. 12 earthquake.

“Most victims’ acute facial injuries have been dealt with,” he told ADA President Ron Tankersley, President-elect Raymond F. Gist, Executive Director Kathy O’Loughlin and others Feb. 25 during a visit to ADA Headquarters. “But now the long-term dental needs are emerging. The dental school is still closed. And many private clinics and offices will need to be re-established.”

Dr. Prophete is also a dental educator and research advisor at the University of Haiti School of Dentistry in Port au Prince. He is relieved that the school sustained little damage during the earthquake, but said that about 100 dental students are on hiatus now, since most of them are unable to find places to live in the aftermath of the disaster.

A private practice dentist in an office with his wife Nadine and another dentist, he is still amazed that the dental building was undamaged. “Even the books stayed on their shelves through the earthquake and aftershocks,” he said. “All the other buildings in that neighborhood collapsed. We were very lucky.”

On Jan. 12, he said, he was supposed to be at the dental school, but because of a generator breakdown, he decided to go home. He and Nadine and their daughters, 13-year-old Tamara and 9-year-old Thalia, were together at home when the earthquake hit.

“We stood together in a doorway,” he said. “I think we parents were more frightened than the kids were. We had to leave the house because it is structurally damaged and not safe to be in.”

Three weeks after the earthquake, the family headed for Florida to stay with family. “It has been very frightening. But it’s OK. We are alive. The office is fine.”

While Dr. Prophete was in the Windy City to attend the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, he visited the Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable monument just north of the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue’s “Magnificent Mile.”

“Chicago’s founding father was Haitian born,” Dr. Prophete said. “It was an honor to see where my fellow Haitian established his trading post.”

Dr. Prophete and his wife plan to return to Haiti in a few weeks, but their daughters will stay in Florida until the schools re-open later this year.

“My wife and I have to go back soon and start working again so we can take care of the children. We face many challenges in our future, but we will be fine.”

The ADA Division of Global Affairs is working with Dr. Prophete to identify programs and initiatives that will address the current and long-term oral health needs of Haiti. Watch for updates in future issues of the ADA News and on ADA.org.

Donations to help rebuild the oral health infrastructure of Haiti can be made to the ADA Foundation International Disaster Assistance Fund.

To learn about future dental volunteer opportunities in Haiti go to http://internationalvolunteer.ada.org.