Reno Dentist - Dr. John Bocchi

The Flying Doctors Trip in San Ignacio

I just returned from my LMV, The Flying Doctors trip to San Ignacio in central Baja.  I was very excited for this trip and it lived up to expectations.  We had an incredible group that included 11 volunteers.  We had a dental clinic, a reading glasses fitting and a women’s health clinic.

This trip made me realize and appreciate so many different things.  First I am so thankful for everyone who donated their time and financial commitment to make this trip happen.  It really made me look at my own practice and realize how valuable preventive dentistry is.  I am thankful for all of our patients and their dedication to oral health.  Some of the people we saw had decay in every tooth.  Its very difficult to only pick one or two things to fix for these people.  After day one I was feeling good, but frustrated all at the same time.  I wished I had more time with so many different patients.  We worked so hard on this trip and treated as many patients as possible, but there were still some that we had to turn away.

Its hard to describe everything that it takes to put together one of these trips.  Some of the patients came to the clinic from hours away, in so much pain. The reward of helping them out is such an incredible feeling.  Its hard to explain the feeling you get when the patients give you a big hug or shake your hand and simply say “Gracias” .

This organization is all about helping people and building great friendships along the way! A big thank you to everyone involved! Also, stay tuned as we get ready to host a cleanings and emergencies clinic for students at Reno’s Rainshadow High. We will keep you posted!

-Dr. Bocchi

For more pictures, click here to see our Flickr Page!

Flying Doctors, Off We Go!

This morning, Dr. Bocchi and some team members from Sierra Smiles, The Flying Doctors Organization and Brian Williams of Think Kindness will be taking off for Baja, Mexico. Their mission is providing dental care to those in need and spreading a little Sierra Karma along the way. We will keep you posted about their trip and share some stories, pics and maybe even a little video if they are able to send it along while they are down south. In the meantime, we wanted to share some pictures from the last trip we took down to Punta Abreojos.

We are helping to build a clinic in Punta Abreojos, Dr. Craig Huenergardt from San Diego has a house down there that is temporarily serving as our clinic. He has done most of the work with the town. They have donated a piece of land for the dental clinic to be built on. Sierra Smiles donated many things from our old office to help get the clinic set up.

The Flying Doctors

Los Médicos Voladores (LMV) or “The Flying Doctors” in Spanish, is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that aims to improve the health and well-being of geographically diverse peoples through education and the provision of no-cost, high-quality medical, dental, and optometric clinics. LMV serves Mexico, Central and South America, and migrant labor populations of the southeast California. Since 1975 LMV has offered more than 230 short-term medical, dental, optometry, and other healthcare clinics, treating over 7,000 patients per year.

Dr. Bocchi is the Vice President of Reno’s “Flying Doctors” Chapter. We are excited to be a part of a great cause, one which is especially close to our hearts!

We will provide pictures and stories of our trips and ventures in the near future. Stay Tuned!!