Over the past year, U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) surgeon partners provided free dental care to more than 2,170 patients across Tanzania, Belize, Kenya, and Sierra Leone through the USOSM Medical Mission Reimbursement Program. Services included tooth extractions, implants, cleft lip and palate treatments, and lesion removal.
Participating surgeons included Randall Russell of Elevated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Richard H. Kim of Southeastern Minnesota Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Michael A. Hale of Colorado Oral Surgery, and Emad Abdou of Momenta Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
“We established this program to support our surgeon partners, encourage giving back, and share best practices to maximize mission impact,” said USOSM CEO Doug Drew. “Our partners are making a tremendous difference globally.”
Launched in 2023, the reimbursement program enables more surgeons to participate in medically aligned missions within oral surgery and facial reconstruction, emphasizing hands-on care and knowledge sharing.
Dr. Randall Russell, serving as the sole oral surgeon on a Tanzanian mission team that included his family, treated over 1,500 patients. The team provided cleanings, fluoride treatments, extractions, restorations, root canals, and pathology procedures. Notably, Dr. Russell removed two large ossifying fibromas, restoring patients’ ability to chew for the first time.
In Belize, Dr. Richard H. Kim led his 13th annual mission, treating over 50 patients with restorative fillings, extractions, cleanings, and oral health education.
Dr. Michael A. Hale treated around 600 patients in Eldoret, Kenya, over five days. Prioritizing children with severe dental issues, his team extracted more than a thousand teeth, restored hundreds, and performed lesion removals and bridges, working 12-hour days.
Dr. Emad Abdou spent two weeks on the Global Mercy ship off Sierra Leone, performing cleft lip and palate surgeries for 20 pediatric patients. These procedures significantly improved feeding, growth, and social integration for affected children.
Through these missions, USOSM surgeon partners brought essential oral care to communities with severe dental shortages, demonstrating the global impact of dedicated medical volunteerism.