Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas and the fifth-largest island in the Caribbean, but not a single dentist lives there to provide care for residents and visitors. The UFCD Bahamas Service Trip, first launched in 2012, provides a much-needed “dental home” for Andros children, providing free dental care in clinics set up in school classrooms with stations for oral-hygiene education, prevention, extractions and restorative procedures.
The service trip was created by former UFCD endodontic resident and native Bahaman Dr. Ericka Bennett who teamed with Dr. Abi Adewumi, a pediatric dentistry UFCD faculty member and longtime supporter of dental mission trips. Adewumi has since led the effort, selecting a group of dental students and student leaders to organize the annual trip. The trip typically includes DMD students, faculty, and volunteer dentists and dental assistants. Each year they provide care for hundreds of the island’s children.