Sam Goodman - the tools to help

It wasn't until he travelled halfway around the world that Sam Goodman, Schulich Dentistry Class of 2014, truly realized the full impact dentistry could have on people's lives. Watching Tanzanian families walk hours through the night to receive free dental care was an eye-opening experience Goodman said has changed the way he views his chosen profession.

"It was an amazing experience especially for dental students, because we got to see directly how our work was impacting people," he said. "They just wanted us to help take away their pain and put them back into good health. To be able to do that was incredible."

Goodman, a dental student, was part of a team of nursing and medical students that travelled to Tanzania this summer as part of MedOutreach. During the six weeks of the program, they split their time between providing clinical care to patients and providing education and outreach to children in local schools and orphanages.

There were days when Goodman and his colleagues saw 60 patients in a day, some having to use an office chair and a bookshelf to rest their heads because of a limited number of dental chairs. Most of the procedures they performed were tooth extractions because the dental issues were so far gone that the best solution was to remove the tooth completely.

"The great part is that with dentistry we can fix most things right away," he said. "I can pull your tooth and improve your life so much."

He hopes that his experiences as part of MedOutreach will give him the tools to eventually help children who can't afford it receive free dental care here at home. When his dad, who was also a dentist and very passionate about dentistry, passed away only months before Goodman was accepted into Schulich Dentistry, he vowed that he would someday set up a foundation in his father's honour.

"I realized through this experience how invaluable dentistry really is to people's health," he said. "And I feel that as a medical professional I want to do what I can in order to do the most good."