Local dentist travels to Honduras to help others

Seth Gibree now has an entirely different outlook on the nation's economic downturn.

The metro area dentist recently returned from a trip to Honduras where he and a group worked for five days repairing and, in some cases, pulling teeth by the light of a truck's headlights under a pavilion deep into the trees. It was intense work, he said, sometimes working "literally nonstop" from 8 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.

Much of the work including fillings, about 600 total, and Gibree said so many fillings took time.

"Some of them were blown out with cavities so we had to rebuild them," he said. "It was exhausting work, but so spiritually rewarding."

During the five days of work, Gibree said word spread around the region. People made four-hour trips by bus, rode for miles on bicycles, or simply walked for hours.

Once they arrived, some patients waited the entire day until the sun had long since set.

"They were all so patient, so appreciative," he said. "I remember a lady and her kids waiting since 8 a.m. and it was pushing 9:15 p.m. She had stayed so long, she had no ride back home. We arranged to have guard take them back."

There was what Gibree described as an "emotional side" to the entire experience, an aspect that made him go that extra mile to help the people in need. Some left the dentist's chair weeping tears of joy.

"You sometimes felt you could do so much more," he said. "It's almost like we changed their lives when they realized we had come from a foreign country to give to them."

Gibree is also the father of two young sons, so seeing children in need especially tugged at his heartstrings. He remembers helping a six-year-old that "never made a sound or moved."

"We had to take all his upper teeth out," he said. "We had numbed him and he had never been numbed before, but he didn't move or cry. All he said was, 'gracias' while he bit down on cotton when we were done."

Moments like this made him want to try all the harder for the people, Gibree said.

"There were times I said I didn't care what it takes," he said. "I was going to make this look better than anything I had seen down there."

It was a trip of many firsts for Gibree. For one, he had never slept under machinegun-toting guards.

From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., basically anytime the sun had set, guards carrying the machineguns were never far.

"It was pouring rain one night," he said. "You'd go outside and there they were. They'd work 12-hour shifts for $5.25."

When the five days came to an end, Gibree and company had seen 325 patients and made between 425 to 450 extractions. The grand total was more than $300,000 in dental work.

Seeing the faith of those people, Gibree said, strengthened his own faith.

"All the stuff we have here, whether it's our homes or whatever else," he said, "what is important is our families. I felt we did a really good thing there and changed a number of people's lives. It was 100 percent worth it."

Gibree said he was going to encourage colleagues and others to make the trip.

"It is so life changing," he said.

Anyone interested in how they can help can call 770-888-8282.

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