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LUQUE, Paraguay – Primero de Mayo Clinic offered endodontic procedures—commonly known as root canals—for the first time in its history, providing teenage and adult patients in the Luque area access to care that once required long, costly trips to the capital. The milestone was made possible through a partnership between U.S. Air Force and Paraguayan dental professionals during exercise AMISTAD 2025.
More than a new service for the community, the achievement was part of a broader medical readiness mission aimed at strengthening partnerships, expanding skills and improving access to specialized care in underserved areas. For U.S. and Paraguayan dentists alike, it was an opportunity to collaborate, share techniques and gain experience that prepares them for a wide range of real-world medical environments.
“It’s been a long time since I went to the dentist,” said Maria Caceres, a 72-year-old patient who grew up in a rural area with little medical coverage. “At my age, it’s worth being scared and coming here. I feel super comfortable with the team—super happy, super grateful—and I want them to come back more often. One time isn’t enough.”
Another patient, Felcia Sanabria, who had been living with dental pain, called the procedure life-changing. “This treatment is extremely expensive here, and I can’t afford it. Having it done (by the AMISTAD team) will make my life better all around,” Sanabria said.
Dr. Raquel Kunzlea, chief dentist at Primero de Mayo with 16 years of experience who splits her time between her private practice and three days a week at Primero de Mayo, said the collaboration with the U.S. team was both educational and inspiring.
“Some of the best practices we observed were how they combine a provider with technicians to complete treatment in a single visit,” she said. “Here, we often have to schedule multiple appointments for the same patient. It was an excellent opportunity for cross-collaboration. We used the same instruments and equipment available here and achieved the same results. It shows what’s possible for our community.”
While the U.S. team brought a portable X-ray unit to demonstrate faster imaging techniques, the most enduring takeaway, she explained, was confidence.
“We feel empowered and confident to continue this work,” she said. “It’s something economically accessible that doesn’t require long wait times at a public hospital. That’s a huge benefit for the people we serve.”
Maj. Job Torres-Gomez, 943rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, is scheduled to perform many of the 20 plus endodontic procedures at the clinic during the two-week mission—care that patients would otherwise have to seek in the city, often at significant cost.
“In the military, they like us to be multi-capable dentists,” Torres-Gomez said. “It’s easier to train one dentist to maintain and restore the dental readiness of active-duty Airmen so they are worldwide deployable with no unresolved dental issues.
"Operationally, we serve as front-line providers who can deliver advanced restorative, surgical and prosthodontic care without referring out, and strategically we extend dental capabilities in environments where specialists aren’t available," added Torres-Gomez . "These missions let us use our skills, maintain our credentials and help people who might not have access to this level of care.”
This was his first mission outside the United States, though he had previously participated in an Innovative Readiness Training exercise in a rural U.S. community.
“In the States, we have an abundance of resources. Here, you have to work with what’s available and think outside the box,” Torres-Gomez said. “Traveling out of the country really opens your eyes.”
The mission also allowed him to expand his skill set beyond routine dental care. The five dentists assigned to AMISTAD 2025 have been rotating through seven different clinics in the greater Asunción area to experience a variety of clinic settings and diagnoses while helping patients.
“At one of the hospitals here, I treated a patient with a facial laceration—something I don’t normally see in my day-to-day practice,” he said. “It’s great preparation for deployments or contingency environments where you need to be ready for anything.”
For both U.S. and Paraguayan dentists, the mission went beyond skill-sharing—it built professional trust and personal connections.
“We’re not just exchanging skills,” Torres-Gomez said. “We’re building friendships and a shared commitment to better serve patients.”
Each patient left the clinic smiling, with relief from pain and a new sense of confidence.
AMISTAD 2025 is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored, U.S. Air Forces Southern-led global health engagement spanning multiple partner nations, including Peru, Suriname, Paraguay and El Salvador. The exercise focuses on enhancing medical readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces while improving access to care in underserved communities. The mission will conclude in Panama in September 2025.
For more information on AMISTAD 2025, visit: www.dvids.net/feature/AMISTAD25
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.11.2025 23:12 |
| Story ID: | 545378 |
| Location: | PY |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, US, Paraguayan dental teams perform first endodontic procedures during AMISTAD 2025, by Andrea Jenkins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
