Enduring Word Bible Commentary Dental Mission

Dental Mission

Many years ago, God called Inga-Lill Guzik to dental missions. She and her team go to places all around the world, reaching out to people who do not have access to dental care. Along with the love of Jesus, this care is brought to places where the need is great.

Read Past Newsletters:

Kenya (2026)
Mexico (2026)
Honduras (2025)
Philippines (2025)
Nicaragua (2025)
Planning a Dental Mission (2025)
Dominican Republic (2024)
The Heart & Why of Dental Missions (2024)
Kenya (2024)
Welcome to Dental Missions (2024)

Give to Global Dental Mission

Subscribe to Stay Updated

More about Inga-Lill Guzik

Inga-Lill Guzik, wife of David Guzik, is a trained surgical dental assistant with many years in various dental specialties. She always had an open heart to go, in God’s timing. But after a crucial experience during a dental mission trip to Mexico in 1996, God confirmed that He wanted to use her more in that way.

“It is not me doing it. It is God using me, working through me, to do something that is so needed for people in places where no dentists exist or they cannot afford any kind of dental care.”

Since then, Inga-Lill has been to more than 20 countries, taking teams of dental professionals and untrained (but willing) volunteers, to whom she will provide the necessary training.

“The dental treatment is the vehicle to demonstrate God’s love to the people, whom He cares about so much.”

Read “Missions and Me” (PDF) by Inga-Lill Guzik

Frequently Asked Questions

A team consists of 3-10 people, depending on where we go and for how long. Inga-Lill will extend the invitation to prospective team members approximately 6 months before a trip and allow a few weeks’ time to pray about whether it’s the right trip for you. Once the trip is filled, she will let you know. Lord willing, Inga-Lill always plans two trips per year (sometimes more), usually at the beginning of the year and in the fall. You will need a current passport with at least 5 blank pages, valid for 6 months after the trip.

Most clinic days run 8am – 5pm, with time for lunch. We have daily devotions as a team in the mornings and debrief in the evenings. Dietary restrictions are extremely hard to accommodate on these trips. It works best if you can manage to take care of your own food needs without imposing on our hosts. Once the decision is made for you to join, I will provide you with all the information you need for the trip, and at the time you will need it.

We go to places where our bodies might not be used to the water and foods and certain germs. Additionally, we are working in the mouth and sometimes come in contact with blood.

We take some safety precautions before going:

Essential vaccinations that should be up to date (certain trips do not require all): Yellow fever, tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid.
During the COVID crisis it was helpful to have the COVID vaccine and one booster, but that could change.

Usually, we are not in high-risk areas for malaria, but that does not mean it couldn’t happen. So, ask your doctor what they recommend for you. Inga-Lill customarily takes doxycycline before, during, and sometimes after a trip, as a precaution to eliminate the effects of unwelcome bugs. Doxycycline is one of the commonly used antibiotics for malaria.

We go to places where we can work with trusted and established missionaries, local churches or orphanages. Usually there is already a personal contact with these ministries made by David or Inga-Lill, who have met people along the way. As guests in their country and as an extension of their work in their community, we are very careful to be a blessing in all that we do as a team and not to impose our own agenda.

Everyone pays their own way and is free to raise money for the missions trip in whatever way they want, whether it is through their church, friends and family, or local businesses.

Everyone arranges their own flights and means of travels, and arrives on a certain established day.

The price of the mission itself covers all food, lodging, transportation, and some supplies.

Everyone is asked to bring certain dental items for the clinic, like gloves, masks, and toothbrushes.

Some other items, that are yours to keep, are necessary: a headlamp, scrubs, and a filtering water bottle.

The cost of each mission varies from $400-1500 (not including airfare), and includes all local transportation, food, lodging, tips, and local services. All unused funds will be returned to each team member. There is no way to earn money on these trips, and every team member pays exclusively for their own costs. Nobody can expect other teammates to cover for their expenses.

Following a down-payment to secure your spot, you will be asked to make monthly payments for the remainder of the costs, or to or pay it in full. You will be fully refunded if you can’t join the mission, unless flights are non-refundable and have already been purchased (thankfully that has happened only once so far).

Every effort will be made to provide the safest and most economical avenues for the team.

Clinic supplies: There are many supplies necessary for a dental mission which need to be purchased ahead of time. Those supplies will mostly be used up during the mission. If there are supplies left over, they will be donated to a local dentist in that country.

Team member scholarships: Sometimes we offer scholarships to a person who does not have the necessary means to join a trip.

Local gratitude: We like to occasionally compensate local volunteers who translate, clean up after our daily work, or help organize patient flow during clinic days. This amount is modest, but always appreciated.

Make a secure donation here. Thank you for your generosity!

We do what we can and have supplies for, including fillings (Fuji), light cure front teeth filling composites, scaling, machine removal of tartar (when electricity is available), fluoride treatments, sealants to all children’s molars and some pre-molars, silver diamine treatments, extractions with local anesthesia, and provide dental hygiene instructions.

We would like to offer front tooth replacement flippers soon.

Everything is performed without the help of electricity, as we can’t count on that in underdeveloped countries.

We basically perform one treatment on each person, sometimes more. Usually, after some triage and consulting, we do what is most urgent and needed for their wellbeing.

We pray with the patient before and after each treatment, sharing the gospel as often as we are prompted.

Inga-Lill believes that anyone who is willing to learn can be trained to perform treatments. Trust that God simply needs your faith, fearlessness and hands to work through.

In preparation to the trip, Inga-Lill will provide YouTube training videos and will also do on the spot training on location.

“I have trained many non-dental people that are doing phenomenally on these trips. Nevertheless, I truly love having dentally trained people along who are familiar with the procedures, since they are ahead of the learning curve.” – Inga-Lill Guzik

Want to join a Dental Mission team?

If you are interested in being considered for a future dental mission, please contact us via the form below:

Bible Study Videos from Inga-Lill Guzik

Follow Inga-Lill on YouTube!