Written by Shuli Lo
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Ida Eva Zielinska
At the beginning of July 2025, Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) dentists from Taiwan and the United States arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, to launch Tzu Chi USA’s four-day medical outreach mission to provide dental care for patients with special needs. On July 11, the third day of the mission, the team, consisting of TIMA and other volunteers, continued to transport specialized equipment to the Tzu Chi Tijuana Campus and patients’ homes, where they offered the much-needed dental care.
Such outreach is vital and has a profound impact on the local community, since Tijuana not only lacks specialized dental clinics for patients with special needs, but even general dental clinics are too few to meet public demand. As a result, many special needs patients requiring dental care have long been unable to access proper treatment or follow-up care.
The Power of Teamwork and Synergy Among Volunteers
Oral health is closely linked to overall health, and poor dental hygiene can lead to conditions such as pneumonia and heart disease. However, in Tijuana, many patients with special needs are unable to express their discomfort even though they may have gone years without brushing their teeth, resulting in the accumulation of tartar and bacteria in their mouths.
During the outreach, Tzu Chi volunteers and local doctors worked together to clean patients’ teeth and address urgent dental problems. Because of fear or involuntary body tremors, some patients could not undergo complex treatment. The doctors therefore adopted a conservative approach focused on brushing and cleaning, and made caregivers the primary audience for health education so that patients’ health could be maintained afterward.
The team scheduled a patient home visit in the morning and another in the afternoon. Each home visit required extensive preparation: all equipment, from heavy air compressors and generators to delicate dental instruments, gloves, garbage bags, and brooms, had to be carefully packed and organized in advance. Packing, transport, and assembly required strong teamwork among dentists, assistants, and volunteers. After each visit, equipment was quickly disinfected, cleaned, and returned to the Tzu Chi Tijuana Campus. Each outreach day felt like moving house, testing both physical stamina and team coordination.
Chinghsuan Huang, a volunteer from Taiwan, was touched by the diligent effort exerted by each member of the team. “Establishing a dental clinic is no easy task, but the Tzu Chi USA volunteers accomplished it in a short time,” she said. “They truly demonstrated care for the most vulnerable among the vulnerable.”
Balancing Technology and Humanity
The dentists from Taiwan not only brought extensive experience in treating patients with special needs but also showed great patience, dedicating extra time when providing their professional services. They additionally took the opportunity to share practical experience with local doctors and interns from the Secretariat of Health of Baja California (Secretaría de Salud de Baja California, SSBC). This selfless knowledge-sharing enhanced local professionals’ skills, while the sincerity and compassion shown by Tzu Chi’s medical team moved both the health department staff and patients’ families.
Czinda Rodríguez Castillo, SSBC’s Oral Health Program coordinator at the Tijuana Health Services Jurisdiction, led her team as it participated in Tzu Chi’s dental care mission. “We learned how to treat patients as if they were part of our family. Working with the Foundation [Tzu Chi], we worked as a team to help the people that need help the most,” she shared with emotion. The experience helped to instill the spirit of medical humanism in their hearts. They learned not only dental techniques but also the essence of TIMA’s approach to health care.
Rodríguez hoped this wouldn’t be the only joint activity and looked forward to more opportunities for collaboration. “Hopefully we’ll have several more chances to work together, because there are many people here who need our help, not only dental assistance but also medical assistance,” she said. “Even if we cannot provide treatment, simply being with them lets people know we are there for them.”
The experience was truly unique because we learned how to treat patients as if they were part of our family.
Serving With Compassion and Kindness
In the morning, the team drove to the first patient’s home, where her mother, Agustina, carried her from the bedroom to the treatment area the medical team had set up. The team first measured the girl’s blood sugar and blood pressure before starting dental treatment. Because the patient screamed, resisted, and trembled, they were unable to use electric dental instruments and instead used a toothbrush, cleaning her teeth and demonstrating for Agustina so she could help maintain her daughter’s oral hygiene in the future.
Agustina was most appreciative. “I am very grateful you taught me how to clean my daughter’s teeth. I will continue to take care of her and help her recover her health.” She told the volunteers that caring for her daughter has been extremely difficult, especially after losing her other daughter three years ago. She is also raising eight of her grandchildren and a newborn, which has been exhausting.
In the afternoon, the team visited another patient who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years earlier and whose hands trembled uncontrollably. Volunteers carefully assessed the situation and decided to begin with tooth brushing. After confirming the patient’s condition was stable, they used an electric scaler. Czinda Rodríguez Castillo, bilingual in English and Spanish, provided translation assistance and performed scaling to help ensure the treatment went smoothly.
The volunteer team worked seamlessly. Chuan-I Lai handled transporting cables and the generator, Chinghsuan Huang taught volunteers to operate the sterilizer, and Chris Yang set up the treatment area onsite and worked with family members to encourage patients’ cooperation. Thanks to everyone’s efforts and compassionate approach, the atmosphere was professional and warm. It was precisely because of this dedicated team, grounded in expertise, that the outreach could be accomplished, serving those most in need.
Particularly inspiring was the mother-son volunteering team of Jessica Su and Chris Yang, who took turns carrying heavy equipment down narrow stairwells, the mother receiving each item as her son passed it down. “A mother’s love is everywhere. Their interaction is inspiring and touching,” said Huang.
Participating in the clinic this time, we saw how attentive the volunteers are, and there were many touching moments. In Taiwan, we thought the outreach would require a huge effort to put together, but they took it upon themselves and accomplished the impossible.
As this was Tzu Chi’s first four-day dental care outreach in Tijuana, with an estimated 160 patients and limited equipment at the Tzu Chi Tijuana campus, a generous donor from Taiwan, Huanting Weng of Medical Choice Supply and Trading Company, donated an expensive high-speed autoclave. The unit enabled rapid, high-temperature sterilization and efficient instrument reuse, helping to address equipment shortages.
“This outreach is full of flowing love, with so many people caring about this good cause,” said Huang expressing her gratitude. “I hope more people can join in caring for the most vulnerable among the vulnerable, helping those who need extra care. I’m deeply grateful to have a team like this and be able to make such a beautiful thing happen.”
Tzu Chi’s medical outreach in Tijuana is never just a display of medical expertise, as it is equally the forging of a connection of love and kindness that transcends language and borders. The volunteers truly put Master Cheng Yen’s Jing Si Aphorism into action: “When the unfortunate cannot find help, those who are blessed must go to them.” The entire team brought love and warmth to those who needed it most, adding a moving ray of light to the world.
