December 15, 2009
Dental Director Dr. Brian Hollander takes a tour of the Dental Clinic with OBGYN Dr. David Compton.
Dental Director comes to Bethel from around the world
by Rhonda Vanover, Public Relations
For more than 25 years, Dr. Brian Hollander has lived, worked, and made a difference in Kathmandu, Nepal and now hopes to bring his special skills to the Dental Clinic at YKHC as it's new Dental Director. Dr. Hollander has a wealth of knowledge to dip from.
Following graduation from dental school, Dr. Hollander spent time as a volunteer dentist in West Africa. That led to a few years of traveling around the world working as a dentist in places like Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Bahrain, and Nepal. In Nepal he was drawn to the people, the mountains, and the health needs. In 1980, there were only 28 dentists serving a population of 18 million, the need was great.
In Kathmandu, the capital city, Dr Hollander started a modern dental clinic mostly serving the Peace Corps volunteers and expatriate population from more than 40 countries. Away from the city, he offered dental camps in the rural areas and in 1990 started a full service clinic for Sherpas at 11,400 ft. elevation, on the trekking route to Mt Everest.
This clinic, known as The Namche Bazaar Dental Clinic, is the highest dental clinic in the world! It is staffed by a dental therapist-a local Sherpa woman who was trained in Canada-and has been running successfully for 20 years.
This success with the use of dental therapists has convinced Dr. Hollander that the Dental Health Aide Therapist (DHAT) Program here in Alaska will work.
The Bethel Connection
Dentists from YKHC Bethel had come to work for Dr. Hollander in his Kathmandu clinic (Jill and Don Calvert, Jason Doten), and he had come to Bethel for two summers to work as TDY dentist in Hooper Bay and Bethel.
One day he heard of the opening for the Dental Director position in the Bethel clinic. He and and his wife Judy talked it over and after 29 happy years of living in Nepal (where he and his wife met, married and raised two children, Sonya and Jesse), they decided that they were up for a challenge and a change.
For most, a move from Kathmandu to Bethel would be a big change. "So far it's been an easy adjustment," Dr Hollander said. "We enjoy cultural diversity and are very impressed with the friendliness of the people in the region. We both enjoy the outdoors, have a kayak, and are looking forward to learning about the region from those with experience."
What's Next?
What does Dr. Hollander see in the YKHC Dental Clinic's future? "Right now the Dental Clinic is almost fully staffed for the first time in many years, which will make it possible to provide more care in the villages and should make it easier to get an appointment in Bethel.
"We would also like to see all subregional clinics staffed with Dental Therapists. The Primary Dental Health Aides will work on the prevention of dental decay in their villages by providing fluoride varnish and oral hygiene instruction."
Fluoride treatments are a primary focus for Dr. Hollander. "The dental decay rate here is one of the highest in the world." For that reason, he hopes to see topical fluoride varnish treatments given to children in the villages four times a year. This more proactive treatment in the villages results in less travel to the dental clinic here in Bethel.
Dr. Hollander hopes to continue educating and helping his new community of 7,000. For now, Alaska is his new frontier and Bethel is his home.
