DENTIST TREATS VILLAGERS; LOCAL PRACTITIONER, FAMILY FLY TO PERU.Byline: KAREN THACKER Community Columnist Dentist dentist /den·tist/ (den´tist) a person with a degree in dentistry and authorized to practice dentistry. den·tist n. A person who is trained and licensed to practice dentistry. Douglas Pulsipher and his family are spending part of their Christmas vacation helping Peruvian villagers. Pulsipher and six other American dentists are spending four days providing dental care for people who have never before visited a dentist. His wife, Sally, and children Lindsey, 20; Mark, 17; John, 16; and Ashley, 13, will help build a school. ``As a dentist, I thought this would be a great opportunity to go help people, but when they said we could bring our kids, that cinched it for me,'' Pulsipher, who practices at Division Street Dental, said last week before the family left. ``All teen-agers need to visit a Third World country. . . . It really opens their eyes.'' The Pulsiphers were scheduled to fly Saturday to Peru, then spend two hours traveling by bus to three remote villages of Incan Indians. Choice Humanitarian, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. service organization, is arranging the trip, like others it organizes for people to use their talents in needy need·y adj. need·i·er, need·i·est 1. Being in need; impoverished. See Synonyms at poor. 2. Wanting or needing affection, attention, or reassurance, especially to an excessive degree. places around the world. Even though modern amenities are scarce in the villages, the dentists are prepared to assist hundreds. Pulsipher is taking along a portable compressor compressor, machine that decreases the volume of air or other gas by the application of pressure. Compressor types range from the simple hand pump and the piston-equipped compressor used to inflate tires to machines that use a rotating, bladed element to achieve to run a drill, and he rented a portable vacuum unit to provide suction suction /suc·tion/ (suk´shun) aspiration of gas or fluid by mechanical means. post-tussive suction a sucking sound heard over a lung cavity just after a cough. . Electrical power is available sporadically spo·rad·ic also spo·rad·i·cal adj. 1. Occurring at irregular intervals; having no pattern or order in time. See Synonyms at periodic. 2. Appearing singly or at widely scattered localities, as a plant or disease. in two of the villages, but the dentists must depend on a generator in the third. With no dental care available in the villages, Pulsipher said he and his co-workers expect to pull teeth and treat infections. They are also bringing equipment for restoring teeth, he said. Each dentist is paying for his own materials, in addition to travel expenses. ``Obviously, there's no hotels or anything,'' Pulsipher said. ``We've been instructed to prepare just like we're going on a camping trip.'' The family packed sleeping bags and air mattresses. They will pick up bottled water in Cuzco. The villagers are farmers who live off the land and make their own clothes, Pulsipher said. ``They still live a very rudimentary rudimentary /ru·di·men·ta·ry/ (roo?di-men´tah-re) 1. imperfectly developed. 2. vestigial. ru·di·men·ta·ry adj. 1. type of life,'' the dentist said. After their four days, the Pulsiphers will return to Cuzco, then visit ancient Incan ruins and travel down the Amazon River Amazon River Portuguese Rio Amazonas River, northern South America. It is the largest river in the world in volume and area of drainage basin; only the Nile River of eastern and northeastern Africa exceeds it in length. before flying back home to Leona Valley. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Local dentist Douglas Pulsipher is treating villagers in Peru. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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