Dental Mission Elective Report: Guatemala
Yijun Guo & Caitlin Huynh
This February, two dental students from the University of Alberta stepped out in faith and chose to participate in a mission elective in Guatemala. They shared about their experience in the mission field with us.
Yijun Guo
DDS Candidate, Class of 2026
The trip was such a cool experience, it was super fun but also quite challenging. We travelled to a remote part of Guatemala called Chisec and drove out even further during the 4 clinic days we had. We had patients laying down on table, and had one portable handpiece unit. The rest of the tables were for extractions. I found that the language barrier made it quite challenging for effective patient care, but it was extremely helpful to have translators with us on the team. It was also good to be pushed in our clinical skills! We probably saw more patients in our 4 days than we have in all of dental school so far.
Although we were part of a secular organization and team, Caitlin and I tried to encourage each other in how we can be salt and light towards our patients and our team members. I do wish we could speak with our patients more, but we challenged each other to know the name of all our patients we treated and to pray for them. It was also encouraging we got to pray together in the evenings. Overall, it was an amazing introduction to overseas dentistry! I feel very eager to participate in more in the future, especially with a Christian organization. While we got to provide valuable care to the patients we saw, I wish we also got to share about the love of Christ beyond our actions.
Caitlin Huynh
DDS Candidate, Class of 2026
It was a wonderful and challenging trip. I think we found it challenging knowing we were giving 
such compromised care, due to the circumstances and access to resources. Almost all our patients could have used much more work than what we were able to provide. It was a big privilege to get to provide such direct and tangible care to so many people and strive to hopefully share God’s love in maybe more subtle ways. I think the hope in the future is to be able to meet physical needs alongside spiritual ones, through working with Christian missions teams!
If you’re a medical or dental student planning a missions elective, CMDA Canada can provide financial support and connection. Learn more cmdacanada.org/student-ministry/student-elective-scholarship.