Daniel Ede, Hannah Rivera, Jeannie Bopp
Front row L-R Crystal Hernandez Ramirez, Evelyn Caro, Gabriella Gliatto, Liz Maina, Natalie Barker
Eleven students and two instructors from Oregon Tech’s Dental Hygiene program in Klamath Falls traveled to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, this summer to provide dental care to underserved populations in rural areas who have limited or no access to dental care.
The 2025 student team members were seniors Gabriella Gliatto, Miriam Partida, Megan Nelson, Evelyn Caro, Liz Maina, Hannah Rivera, James Grow, Alexis Luna, Crystal Hernandez Ramirez, Natalie Barker, and Isabelle Cade. Faculty instructors Jeannie Bopp and Dana Manfull helped coordinate the trip and traveled with the students, along with support from Administrative Program Assistant Daniel Ede and Dr. Denise Seabert, Interim Dean of the College of Health, Arts, and Sciences.
The trip was part of the International Externship Program (IEP), which provides students the opportunity to travel outside the United States and deliver dental care in nontraditional settings and within new cultures.
The non-profit Great Shape Inc. 1000 Smiles organization promoted dental clinic services throughout Jamaica, resulting in hundreds of people lining up each day to receive care. Students provided around 300 dental cleanings and fluoride treatments, along with preventive sealants and oral hygiene instruction. Conditions were crowded, hot, and humid, with portable equipment often in “well-used/poor” condition.
“The goal is to not only provide much-needed dental care to underserved populations but also provide students with an opportunity to develop confidence, teambuilding, and a passion for community service,” said Bopp. “These skills can benefit them in future work settings such as public health, dental missions, rural health, and mobile or tele dentistry.”
At Oregon Tech’s Klamath Falls campus, students in the dental hygiene program participate in a yearlong course to provide dental assistance to Klamath County, but the IEP trip expands learning to a diverse cultural setting and a variety of situations, including extreme heat, old equipment, and long bus rides to the sites on rough, narrow roads. The experience is a commitment by each team member, as they must each raise the necessary funds to participate through private means, donations, and fundraising events.
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