Unconventional Care is Making a Difference

Bringing specialized oral surgery to rural communities.

Tags:

Volunteer

(Prostock-studio / Shutterstock.com)

Dr. Cameron Lewis, DDS, is a traveling oral surgeon who is making a difference in the lives of rural residents. Lewis has a passion for helping those who may not otherwise have access to oral surgeons. According to The Daily Yonder Lewis knew from the age of 12 that he wanted to practice some form of medicine. 

Lewis traveled to South Africa and it was there that he saw how much of the population did not have easy access to healthcare. This inspired Lewis to become an oral surgeon with the dream of making specialized dental health care available to many who would not otherwise have acces to it.

Bridging the gap
As an oral surgeon, Lewis travels to rural areas such as Sleepy Hollow, New York and Bethel, Connecticut to provide much-needed oral surgery services. He understands that rural residents are less likely to have access to specialized dental health care treatments and wants to bridge that gap.

The Techtimes reports that Lewis is bringing professional care to those in remote areas by renewing the once popular concept of traveling healthcare providers. In the past doctors often paid personal house calls to patients’ homes. But urbanization saw people living in cities with hospitals and centralized infrastructure, making the need for a traveling doctor obsolete. But Lewis realized that this centralization often left a lot of people who still reside in remote areas without proper care.

Providing quality care
“I wanted to make a difference. There’s a lot of times people are so embarrassed because they don’t look at dentistry as a priority… A lot of times people hide (their dental issues). They don’t want to smile or don’t want anyone to see they don’t have any teeth, or that their teeth don’t look good. When you change that… and give them a whole different smile… They feel so much happier than they were before. You see a big difference,”Lewis told the Daily Yonder.

Lewis is determined to give patients highly professional care. He gets amazing feedback and expressions of gratitude for his oral surgery servicesLewis is a community activist. He takes part in dental health education programs and is a proponent of increasing awareness about the importance of oral health in rural communities.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
5 Ways Women are Innovating to be Good to Other People
The Floating Hospital that Saves Lives Around the World
Hero Doctor Lets Patients Pay For Surgery With Volunteer Work