---

Two dentists from St. Helen's and Our Lady of Fatima parishes in Schenectady will leave for their fourth medical mission trip to Mexico in January.

Drs. Barry Loffredo and Don DeLuke have spent three weeks each year in isolated mountain villages of Mexico, pulling villagers' decayed and infected teeth and educating children about dental health.

Health care is usually the last priority for families in these areas, Dr. Loffredo said: "The primary thrust in a day is to put food on the table." Education comes next.

The dentists distribute toothbrushes and visit schools to talk about diet, brushing, plaque accumulation and avoiding sweets.

"We don't even talk about gum disease, because we're at such a basic level of education," Dr. Loffredo said.

The dentists, along with volunteer translators and dental students, stay at San Agustin in Cuanacaxtitlan, the Schenectady churches' sister parish. The areas they've visited often don't appear on maps - Chilixtlahuaca and Mixtecapa, for instance - and require four-wheel drive vehicles to reach.

"A lot of these people have never seen a dentist or even a doctor," which leads to tooth decay and health problems, said Dr. Loffredo.

The dentists set up their makeshift office in municipal buildings or outdoors, using battery-powered camping headlights and plastic picnic chairs. Schenectady parishioners have donated money for gauze, needles, anesthetic and other supplies. One Catholic bought a portable dental unit, which will enable the dentists to fill cavities for the first time next year.

Most of the people they treat speak a dialect called Mixteco, creating the need for up to three interpreters to translate the doctors' English to the patients' language.

"I've learned to speak with my hands, too," Dr. Loffredo said, laughing.

Two dental assistants from Washington offered to accompany the doctors as interpreters in January. A Spanish-speaking priest from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions will also attend.

"We're in luck," Dr. Loffredo told The Evangelist. "We've got more translators than we need."

To donate, send checks made out to St. Helen's/Our Lady of Fatima with "donation for dental mission" in the subject line to 1803 Union St., Niskayuna, 12309.[[In-content Ad]]

---