Jan. 3 — Flying dentist creates smiles

South Hill’s Dr. Ronald Wright leaves private practice to help orphan children in Bolivia

Susan Schell / of the Herald

Last fall, Dr. Ronald Wright passed the baton for his dental practice to Dr. Mark Ngo. Wright had been practicing in the South Hill area for 39 years. He stepped down to pursue other endeavors close to his heart, namely humanitarian work in impoverished countries.

“I don’t really like the word ‘retirement,’ because it has negative connotations,” he said. “I just retired from private practice. But I’m still working.”

Wright now donates his dental services whenever he can to orphan children in Cochabamba, Bolivia, as he has done for the past six years. Wright’s wife, Patty, is a dental hygienist who is just as involved as her husband.

The dentist is proud of his efforts, but said the situations can be heartbreaking at times.

“You have to walk away from these kids holding their arms out to you,” he said. “In these orphanages they have one adult for every 20 infants.”

Wright said the term, “the smell of poverty,” is quite literal in this instance.

“The babies smell of urine,” he said. “When they wet their diapers the mothers just turn them around to move the wet spot. They don’t have the luxury of Huggies or other disposal diapers there.”

Wright said families take their children to orphanages when they have fallen on hard times and try to retrieve them again when things improve. The orphanages are set up with big rooms containing many beds. The children eat meals at a communal table.

“There isn’t such thing as privacy there,” he said. “And when you’re there, you don’t have any either.”

Wright said Americans are so far removed from the type of poverty there, situations we would find appalling are commonplace there. He recalled meeting a teenage girl who had just given birth to a baby. Her father was also the baby’s father.

“The girl couldn’t turn him in, because he supports the family,” he said. “What’s she going to do? She can’t jeopardize all her sisters and brothers, so the guy gets away with it.”

While witnessing the poverty and hardships surrounding the people in Bolivia, the dentist finds a deep sense of satisfaction in making a difference in their lives.

“It’s always the little things that surprise me,” he said. “They’re so happy to just have a toothbrush. You have families with five or six kids all sharing one toothbrush. It’s not about how many CDs or Gameboys you have over there. I’ve seen teenagers who cover their mouths when they talk because they’re embarrassed about their teeth. We restore their smile for them. We try to get their physical needs met so they feel like they belong.”

Wright learned about the situation in Bolivia through a fellow dentist and pilot, David Crane. Wright’s other passion is flying. He owns a 4-seat Cessna 182 and serves as Vice President of the Flying Dentists Association. The association has about 275 members nationwide and consists of dentists who share a love of flying.

“It’s a unique group of people,” Wright said. “They’re inquisitive, curious and love exploring. We had to find a way to combine the manpower of dentists. We do “fly-ins” to attend continuing education courses in dentistry.”

When the pilots meet, they usually get together for dinner or visit a museum of aviation.

“We don’t get paid vacations,” Wright said. “But if you don’t make it fun people won’t go.”