Michael Adsit, DDS '05

Vacation volunteerism

For most students, spring break is synonymous with rest, relaxation, sunshine and sandy beaches. Not so for Michael Adsit, DDS 2005, who devoted his time off to helping those in need.

Adsit spent his last two spring breaks in Guatemala and Africa, providing dental care to hundreds of people who have no access to a dentist. What would make a young student travel thousands of miles to spend long hours working in relentless heat and devastating poverty? Adsit says simply, "It breaks my heart to see people living in these conditions, but if I can help them out, I will. That is why I like to go."

A different perspective

Growing up in Boonville, NY, Adsit originally dreamed of being an air force pilot. However, he lost most of his hearing as a newborn, and even though he learned to lip read and is now assisted by hearing aids, he realized he didn't fit the profile for the military. Then in 7th grade he got braces and immediately found his calling. Adsit says, "I thought, 'Wow, dentistry would be a cool field to get into.' So I lost interest in being a pilot and did something else that I was really interested in." After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in ultrasound, Adsit chose UB's School of Dental Medicine for its excellent reputation and affordability.

Adsit's first volunteer experience abroad was during his 2004 spring break. That year he accompanied a group of dentists and dental students led by Donald Hayes, an East Aurora, NY dentist who organized yearly trips to Guatemala. The group stayed at a convent and set up a clinic there to provide dental care to the nearby villages. "Ever since then," Adsit says, "I've been hooked on going, because when you get back, you can laugh at some of the daily problems that you have. It puts such a different perspective on your life."

From Guatemala to Ghana

Inspired by that experience, Adsit decided to return the following spring. This time UB's break coincided with Easter week, which ruled out a trip to the largely Catholic countries of Latin America. A determined Adsit researched other potential sites online and began corresponding with a pharmacist from the Baptist Medical Center in Ghana, Africa. He recruited Renzo Nylander, a UB dental school faculty member, who Adsit calls "my hero, a great person…and the nicest guy," as well as fellow dental students Nora Wilkins and Daniel Alleman, to accompany him. All four of them paid for the $2,500 trip out of their own pockets. Says Adsit, "I just started a trip because I really wanted to go, and I wanted to go to Africa to see what it is like."

The group's two-day flight across the globe was followed by a 14-hour, 500-mile bus trip into the villages of northern Ghana. After a full day at the Baptist Medical Center, the four dentists spent the remaining three days of their dental outreach going to various villages where they, as Adsit describes, we "just set up four camping chairs and started pulling teeth. In some of these places we got swamped. I was seeing about ten patients an hour. You want to help everyone because they all have an abscess or some other problem. I did the best I could just trying to keep up with the numbers. It was pretty hectic." The team of dentists used oral surgery equipment borrowed from Western New York dentist Kevin D'Angelo, as well as anesthesia, needles, and suture kits donated by UB.

After witnessing firsthand the desperate need for dental care in that region, Adsit hopes to return to Ghana next year. He hopes to extend the trip to two weeks and to bring more dentists with him so that he can run two clinics – one in the capital and one in the villages in the north. Adsit also wants to modify to the goals of the outreach. "This time," he says, "I want to focus more on prevention and cleanings. Hopefully we can bring some hygienists who can clean the children's teeth as well."

Looking out for mankind

Currently Adsit is completing his residency at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and ultimately plans to go into private practice. It seems likely, however, that volunteerism will always be an integral part of his life. "I want to look out for mankind," Adsit says, "and look outside the borders. I really enjoy experiencing other cultures, and that to me is the greatest thing. You see how other people live. The people who don't have any possessions, who only have the clothes on their backs and who are constantly trying to get food and wood for their fires, seem really happy. As you come back here to the US, you see that we have everything, and yet so many of us feel depressed. It is refreshing to see a society where happiness is not based on money."

Written by Jessica Dudek, BA '94
September 2005

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