OMFS residents sponsored by Envista pictured left to right: Victoria Keir, Emily Snodgrass, Brandon Oks, Dr. Gary Orentlicher, Greg Cooke, and Brendan Gallager

Great Shape! Inc. is thrilled to add a new partner with Envista and Nobel Biocare. Envista’s foundation, “Envista Smile Project,” graciously funded five senior NY city metro residents from four different OMFS residency training programs to participate in the 1000 Smiles dental project this year for one week. (OMFS stands for oral and maxillofacial surgeon.)

According to the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, “Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to recognize and treat a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. They are also trained to administer anesthesia and provide care in an office setting. They treat problems such as the extraction of wisdom teeth, misaligned jaws, tumors and cysts of the jaw and mouth, and to perform dental implant surgery.”

Having oral and maxillofacial surgeons on our team is an incredible leap of progress regarding the level of care the 1000 Smiles dental project can provide. This new partnership will bring life-changing dental care to many Jamaicans in need.

We are incredibly grateful to veteran volunteer Dr. Gary Orentlicher, an OMFS himself, who devised a plan to develop this senior resident humanitarian trip with Great Shape! in Jamaica.

Dr. Orentlicher, a five-year veteran of the 1000 Smiles dental project, said, “I recently decided to consolidate my private practice and take a half-time academic position working with the NYU/Bellevue OMFS residency training program at the Manhattan Veterans Administration Medical Center in New York City.”

Once he had the idea to take OMFS residents on 1000 Smiles, he leveraged his 25-year working relationship with Nobel Biocare and their senior corporate management to convince them to sign on to this worthy cause.

Dr. Orentlicher reached out to Patrik Eriksson, Senior VP of Envista and President of Nobel Biocare. “Within 15 minutes, he contacted me telling me that what I was trying to do was amazing and he wanted to be a part of it as a sponsor through Envista’s ‘Envista Smile Project’ foundation,” says Dr. Orentlicher.

After getting a verbal commitment from Envista, he worked with Joseph Wright, Exec. Director of Great Shape! Inc. to submit an official grant request to Envista Smile Project. Envista approved the grant request within two months and then released the funds to sponsor the five residents.

Dr. Orentlicher said, “Their motivation for sponsoring the mission week was multifactorial- helping many people in Jamaica, resident education and experience, promoting volunteerism, and simply doing the right thing to help make the world a better place.”

As for the experience of the five residents who participated on 1000 Smiles this year, Dr. Orentlicher said, “The five residents felt that the week was a life-changing experience. Each one committed to future weeks spent ‘giving back.’ As an observer, a supervisor, and an attending doctor, the five residents were ‘superstars’ who were wonderful doctors and team players, who helped many people and changed many lives.”

Rubin Casas, Manager Events and Envista Smile Project at Envista, said this about the partnership, “The Envista Smile Project is committed to lifting people up, restoring smiles, building confidence, and advancing oral care in underserved communities. We hope that the 5 OMFS residents came back from the medical mission trip inspired and continue to use their gifts and talents to positively impact those in need. Together, we can create a positive and lasting effect on the oral health of communities around the world.”

Below this article you can read some of the residents’ testimonials from volunteering.

Dr. Orentlicher said this about the impact of this partnership, “The idea that the 5 residents and I tripled the number of OMFSs in Jamaica for our week there is mind-blowing. The partnership with Envista is exciting on many levels… promoting OMFS volunteerism, resident training and education, treating as many Jamaicans as possible, changing people’s lives, and promoting peace and love despite our differences.”

He added, “The partnership also has a number of obvious positives from the standpoint of equipment donations from Envista’s companies (instruments, drilling units, headlights, radiology equipment, sterilization solutions, etc.) The program has the capacity to expand and serve more people in Jamaica and the Caribbean.”

As for the future, Dr. Orenlicher said, “Envista was so impressed they have tentatively agreed to sponsor 5 residents again next year. I’ve started the inquiries into grants of equipment from their companies.”

Looking to the future, Rubin Casas said, “We can explore avenues for additional resources, engage more volunteers, and enhance our ability to provide comprehensive dental services to those who otherwise would not have access to oral care. With the ability to leverage Envista’s comprehensive portfolio, including dental implants and treatment options, orthodontics, and digital imaging technologies, we are uniquely suited to help Great Shape transform lives. Let’s do it!”

Big Up to Dr. Orentlicher for being a superstar volunteer, facilitating this partnership, and creating a brand new avenue of program growth for the 1000 Smiles dental project. Sincere gratitude to Envista for agreeing to sponsor these five residents in 2023! Special thanks to the five residents who made such an incredible impact on the hundreds of patients they treated. We look forward to partnering again and bringing more OMFS residents on the 1000 Smiles dental project in 2024!!

Victoria Keir:

 “In residency we treat many patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds with the implicit understanding that most of our patients have choices when it comes to their care. There is a dearth of such choices in Jamaica, and for a great number of the patients we treated our services provided relief and healing that would not have been possible otherwise. To have applied years of training and knowledge to the service of patients in this level of need was rewarding to say the least.”

“Overall, this week was one of the best of my life. It opened my eyes to the sheer amount of need that exists beyond our borders. I feel a calling to help people abroad that, while perhaps dormant before, now feels quite active. I have no doubt that I will be back on humanitarian trips in the future as an attending—perhaps even with Great Shape!”

Brendan Gallagher:

“There’s an old story of a man walking along the beach, covered in drying-out starfish. He picks up one at a time and throws them into the ocean, as far as he can. Someone shouts over and asks him, why do it? He can’t possibly throw all the starfish back into the water, day after day. The man replies, “maybe, but it makes a difference to this one,” and throws another back to its home. Last week’s trip to Jamaica serving the community in these areas that likely never would have received the care they had last week – this is an example of the man and the starfish. I am so fortunate to have been a part of the team of 5 OMFS residents who spilled sweat, tears, even blood into the Jamaican earth to help the people who traveled miles and waited hours, sometimes days, to be seen and treated. The Envista logos on our scrubs were drenched with love by noon every day (some might have dripped onto the floors). Great Shape!’s 1000 Smile Project flourished, if only we could have brought you back the smiles from all around!”