Navajo Reservation Offers Hands-on Experience for Rutgers Dental Students

Students at the Four Corners Regional Health Center.

Andrew Jursik wondered why so many of his Native American patients at a New Mexico dental clinic were reluctant to have their teeth extracted, despite severe decay.

A clinic staffer gave him the answer. According to some Native American cultural traditions, losing a tooth — or any other body part — may mean losing part of their soul.

“I learned they believe this is part of their being,” said Jursik, a fourth-year student at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM), who travelled to a Navajo reservation to help treat patients there.

Since 2004, RSDM students and faculty have volunteered at the clinic, which is run by Indian Health Services, a federal agency. For a week, they fill in while the staff is on vacation, treating more than 2,000 patients. Read more about their work at Rutgers Today.