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Mission in Mexico by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

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In the 1990s, “Clinica Betel” was founded. Now, owned and operated by Latin World Ministries, the clinic is dedicated to assuaging access to care in the state of Guererro, Mexico. Dr. Jerome Smith, missionary dentist, tells us more about this practice south of the border, and why he chooses to volunteer his time.

How did this clinic come about? Can you give us some background?
Smith: A missionary by the name of Reverend Larry Myers of Dennison, Texas, ventured down to Southern Mexico long before the clinic was conceptualized. He built a small church to minister to the people of the area. He could see early on that many of them had medical and dental needs beyond anything he’d ever seen back at home. He happened to become a patient of mine and I mentioned an interest in going to Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexico with him along with a dental colleague, Dr. Carl Breaux. We returned year after year doing nothing but extractions. Eventually, after bringing a young boy to the States who needed bilateral cleft palate surgery, a number of physicians became involved along with many members of our local health-care community. And as they say, “the rest is history.”

The concept of building a medical-dental clinic along with a hospital became a vision of the core group that began going down to Atoyac in the early days. I’d say that it was after our fourth or fifth trip that the idea of offering more extensive medical and dental care began to sink in. Fr. Tom Shafer, a former radiology technician and his wife, Deanna, volunteered to move to Atoyac to run the clinic and have devoted their lives to seeing this come to fruition.

The clinic is owned by Latin World Ministries, which basically consists of Fr. Tom Shaffer and a small advisory board. The clinic employs a Mexican physician, nurse and dentist on a part-time basis to serve the needs of the people each and every week of the year.

What is the local population? How big of an area does the clinic serve?
Smith: 100,000 people.

What services are available in addition to dentistry?
Smith: Cleft palate surgery, plastic surgery, general surgery (e.g. cholecystectomies, hernia surgery, etc.), OB-GYN surgery, orthopedic surgery, eye surgeries (e.g. cataract surgery) and orthognathic surgery.

Does the clinic operate year-round?
Smith: We have a number of campaigns that occur year round. Our medical, dental and optometry campaign is usually in January of each year and consists of around 45-50 health-care volunteers. During our most recent campaign, we had the following:
  • 400 eye exams and most of these patients were fitted for prescription glasses
  • 60 medical surgical procedures in the operating room with general anesthesia. These included cleft palate surgeries, gall bladder surgery, hernia surgeries, etc. Also a number of small children including developmentally disabled children requiring extractions were treated in the O.R. as well.
  • 350 dental patients were seen with procedures mostly done by senior dental students from A.T. Still School of Dentistry (Mesa, Arizona). These included extractions, endodontics, fillings, and some limited fixed and removable prosthodontics.

In August of each year, a dental campaign is organized for dental students from LSU School of Dentistry and A.T. Still dental school.

During those campaigns, we bring our equipment, skills and services up into the mountains to treat villagers who cannot come to Atoyac for dental care in January. This has been a wonderful teaching opportunity and learning experience, which has gone on for the past 10 years. In November of each year, a team of ophthalmologists has a campaign and performs various eye surgeries for those who do not have access to that type of care in Mexico.

Also, there are Water Well Teams that come to Atoyac month after month each year to drill water wells in many of the surrounding villages that have no access to fresh water! Check out www.latinworldministries.com/Agua-Ministries.html if you want to learn more about it.

How often are mission trips scheduled, and how many volunteers can you accommodate at one time?
Smith: We schedule four to five trips per year, two of which are dental. We can accommodate 45 to 50 volunteers at a time.

Do you also need dental assistants and hygienists?
Smith: Yes!

Where do supplies come from?
Smith: The clinic is a non profit organization and operates on a true “shoestring budget.” Our volunteer dentists, physicians and optometrists purchase most supplies. We also do receive some supplies from medical and dental reps from various companies. Many local hospitals, rotary clubs and private individuals have also donated funds for the acquisition of supplies and equipment.

What would you tell a dentist who has never done volunteer dental treatment? How is it different from what he or she does at the office every day?
Smith: It requires some resourcefulness and the ability to “think outside of the box.” Managing a line of patients, some of which have spent the night in front of the clinic, and keeping treatment flow steady is a challenge. Also, an anterior tooth that could really use an e.max crown – consider making a composite crown on site using Mylar crown forms and VLC composite.

Any advice?
Smith: For those going on mission trips: plan carefully. It’s really a drag to spend an entire day in and out of airports along with highway travel only to discover you didn’t bring enough local anesthetic or the wrong size gloves. Careful planning is key. For those wanting to establish a clinic abroad: don’t try and reinvent the wheel. Make a trip to a mission such as ours and take good notes. After 20 years of doing this, we can tell you what to do and what not to do.

Thanks, Jerome
To learn more about the clinic, visit www.latinworldministries.com. If you’d like to donate time, money or supplies, you can also contact Dr. Jerome Smith directly at jerome@jeromesmithdds.com.
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September 2025
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