The hinge of Africa

Dr. and Mrs. Perry Burtch are fulfilling a need in Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon

Perry Burtch, DDS, a 1989 graduate of the School of Dentistry, knew he wanted to go overseas when he graduated from Loma Linda. Before he knew it, there was an opening in the Republic of Cameroon, and he was in France learning another language in preparation. Dr. Burtch's interest in international dentistry started at a much younger age, however. "My father is a dentist," states Dr. Burtch. "He was really interested in mission work, but when he graduated from dental school, he had three kids and never had the chance to go overseas. Reading books about flying doctors to the Philippines and those kind of things when I was younger planted a seed in me." Dr. Burtch can't really point to one particular story that inspired him; he just wanted to experience more places to see if anything was there that was different from what he had already experienced. In the capital city of Yaoundé, the Republic of Cameroon, things were definitely different from anything he had experienced before. "You can"t be prepared enough," he says. "As to living in the country, there's no infrastructure, and the roads are in pretty rough condition. In the buildings the elevators don't work, and phone lines are terribly unstable." The Republic of Cameroon is located in Western Africa and is slightly larger than California. Geographically, Cameroon is often referred to as the hinge of Africa by nationals and expatriates alike. Thirty percent of the population of Cameroon is unemployed, with 40 percent of the population below the poverty level. The risk of street and residential crime is high; incidents of violent crime involving armed banditry are on the rise throughout the country; and reports of carjackings and burglaries are common, particularly in Yaoundé and Douala, another large city nearby. Since March of 1990, Dr. Burtch and his wife, Monita Bass Burtch, MS, a Graduate School alumna from 1987, have been serving in Cameroon, and they would not trade their experiences for anything. "When we come back to the States, often we will travel from Mexico to Alaska, but we actually feel more at ease in Cameroon. I've never lived in any one place as long as I've lived there," explains Dr. Burtch. When he arrived at the Adventist Dental Clinic in Yaoundé, Arthur N. Garbutt, DDS, a 1976 graduate of the School of Dentistry, was the director. Dr. Garbutt had spent 12 years in Cameroon with his wife, Elizabeth Cepeda Garbutt, RDH, a 1977 graduate of the School of Dentistry, working at the clinic and training Cameroonian dental hygienists and dentists. Currently Dr. Garbutt is working in the Sacramento area. In 1993, Dr. Burtch became the director of the clinic, which now has a staff of three dentists and one hygienist. With only 120 dentists covering a country populated by 15 million people, and little more than 40 dentists in Yaoundé alone, Dr. Burtch says that his clinic is continuously busy. He personally sees between 10 and 15 patients a day, and with the other three dentists and the hygienist, approximately 60 patients in the office each day. Dr. Burtch and his team try to avoid taking on more patients, but find it difficult since the patients can be quite insistent.
		Dr. Burtch and other clinic staff help to load the car in preparation for the mobile clinics.
		The Adventist Dental Clinic in Yaoundé accommodates approximately 60 patients per day.
		Perry Burtch, DDS (SD'89), readies a shipment of supplies that will be used for mobile clinics, a favorite part of Dr. Burtch's job.
		A dental hygienist demonstrates to Cameroonians how to take care of their teeth.

Although there are more than 24 major African language groups, English and French are the only official languages of Cameroon. For this reason, Dr. And Mrs. Burtch spent six months in France to learn French prior to their arrival in Cameroon.

Their love for Cameroon does not mean they haven't had problems. Dr. Burtch has faced malaria twice, though his wife has remained unscathed. Random police controls have also caused problems from time to time. "They often pull my car over and ask to see my papers," recounts Dr. Burtch. "It's usually entertaining--depending on how much of a hurry you are in."

Supplies are another challenge for the clinic. According to Dr. Burtch, there are no real dental supply houses in Cameroon, and supplies must be imported from France.

"Having our supplies imported is quite expensive, so every two years when we're home, we try to pick up enough supplies to last us until our next furlough," explains Dr. Burtch.

Some supplies arrive at the clinic as donations, and others are available to the clinic heavily discounted from U.S. supply houses. According to Dr. Burtch, dental supply warehouses often receive items they can"t sell or were returned to them, and the warehouses then sell them to missions for 15 cents on the dollar.

Every two years, Dr. Burtch and his wife are given a three-month furlough. This gives them time to relax, spend time with relatives, and restock needed necessities.

"Sometimes it's hard because after a while everything starts to seem normal to you in Cameroon, and then when you come back it is a big shock to be in the States," laughs Dr. Burtch.

Dr. Burtch was born in Portland, Oregon. When he was 8 years old, his family moved to Canada where he grew up. He graduated from Walla Walla College, College Place, Washington, and then studied dentistry at Loma Linda.

Mrs. Burtch graduated from the marital and family therapy program at LLU and assists with marriage and counseling needs among the YaoundÈ expatriate population. Because of all of the cross-cultural issues expatriates have to deal with, they often find it comforting to talk to a marriage and family counselor, so she stays busy.

She is from Washington state, and serves as the dental clinic office business manager. "She pretty much runs the place, which gives me a chance to see patients," says Dr. Burtch.

Two areas that the Burtches have a definite interest in are education and dentistry in rural clinics surrounding Yaoundé.

"Working in rural clinics has been very rewarding," explains Dr. Burtch. "Some of the people have no idea that problems like toothaches can be taken care of. It's just something that they've been living with."

Education in the rural clinics is very crucial--even more important than treating the toothache itself, according to Dr. Burtch. "Our acute care intervention does not mean anything if they're just going to get another toothache in the future, so clinical education is probably the most important thing we do."

The Burtches plan to stay in Cameroon for another two years, and have a clear idea what they need to accomplish before they leave. "When we started in 1990 there were no Cameroon dentists. Now we have two, and another person we are sponsoring in dental school who will finish in two years. We would like the clinic to be able to run without any expatriate help. We want a Cameroon dentist to give the clinic a little more stability. As soon as that is accomplished, I'd consider my job complete," says Dr. Burtch.

The Burtches and the Garbutts have worked hard to stabilize and modernize the clinic. Just last year, the clinic had eight dental chairs installed, which adds to the stability.

When the clinic is stabilized, Dr. Burtch says, he has no definite plans for when he leaves, but he would like to continue helping with the rural clinics.

"The biggest thing I like, especially in rural clinics, is that I feel like I am really fulfilling a need and the people are very thankful. That is a reward greater than any salary or anything else that one could get. That is why I do this."