LA MESA, PANAMA –
At the Centro de Salud de La Mesa, dental patients line up hours before sunrise, knowing only a limited number of appointments will be handed out each day. Once those slots are filled, anyone still waiting must return another day. For some, that has meant months or years without relief.
AMISTAD 2025 is changing that. A joint dental team—of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army dentists and dental technicians —are working side by side with Panamanian professionals to nearly double the number of patients seen daily.
“Normally, this clinic’s two dentists might see about 50 dental patients in a week,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Lisa Wu, 22nd Medical Group dentist. “Now we’re treating that many in a single day. The appointment ticket system is still in place, but we’ve been able to move through patients faster and help more people who might have waited months or longer.”
For local providers, the demand is just as visible.
“Most of the people who come here have to travel long distances, sometimes four or five hours,” said Dr. Yellena Ramos, a Panamanian dentist at the La Mesa clinic. “They arrive at five in the morning, and even then, many cannot be seen. Care is distributed through a ticket system, and only a limited number of patients are given tickets each day. For some, it means they might go years without being able to see a dentist.”
The combined team’s focus went beyond procedures.
“We’re doing extractions, fillings and cleanings,” Wu said. “But even if a patient comes in without an urgent issue, they still leave with a cleaning and hygiene instruction. Patient education is my top priority, because people here may only see a dentist once a year. Teaching them how to take care of their teeth every day is more important than anything else.”
Working shoulder-to-shoulder has created space for professional exchange as well.
“I’ve been learning new instruments and techniques,” Ramos said. “At first they look similar to what we use here, but they are not the same. The methods are more precise, a little bit better in some ways.”
Ramos described how performing procedures in Panama have helped her refine her skills and increased partnership with the Panamanian dental professionals.
“After 12 years practicing here, it’s valuable to compare and adapt,” added Ramos. “You learn small things—how to position tools, how to move more efficiently, even how to hold an instrument differently. It’s not just technical, it’s teamwork.”
Many of the dental patients arrive in pain after postponing treatment for as long as possible. Ramos explained that working alongside the U.S. team has helped ease suffering and bring relief to families in the community more quickly.
As the two-week mission continues, both U.S. and Panamanian providers hope the impact will last long after the final patient walks out the door.
“Our goal is to relieve as much of the backlog as possible, but also to leave behind knowledge and increase capacity so the local providers can keep moving forward,” Wu said. “If we can do that—if people here can get care faster, and our partners feel better equipped—then this mission has been a success.”
For the U.S. military providers, the experience also directly builds operational readiness. Practicing dentistry in an austere, resource-constrained environment gives the teams real-world skills that translate to deployed locations.
“This is real patient care in very different conditions than what we have at home,” Wu said. “Working here proves we can adapt, solve problems and still deliver safe, effective treatment. That’s readiness.”
As AMISTAD 2025 continues in La Mesa, U.S. and Panamanian dental teams are cutting wait times, building readiness and bringing care to those who need it most.