“When the sun went down, they worked
to the sound of guns firing and mines
exploding only a mile away,” Ann wrote.
“The firing continued late into the night.
While he was there, two Ukrainian soldiers
were killed and five were injured.”
In 2019, Tim and Ann returned to Ukraine,
this time to work at an orphanage using a
mobile dental unit that he helped to finance.
While there, Dr. Medianick not only provided
vital dental care to the children, but also
brightened their lives in other ways. As Ann
wrote, “It was obvious that his treatment
plans included smiles and hugs as much
as they included fixing neglected teeth.”
Ann reflected on the scenes in another
article she wrote for his dental practice blog.
As soon as I entered the premises of the
orphanage, it was clear that my husband
was the resident star. The orphans swarmed
around the mobile dental unit he helped to
finance. When he was busy at work on an
orphan, they peered through the windows
in order to catch a glimpse of him. When he
exited the mobile unit to take a break, he
was surrounded by a group of orphans who
wouldn’t let him go. Several begged him to
do their teeth next, even though they weren’t
in any pain. They would do anything to seize
his attention.
This continued for four days, with dental
work from early morning to late in the day,
helping more than 80 orphans who had
overwhelming cavities and decay as well as
many other needs. Dr. Medianick delivered
shoes, vitamins, soccer balls, and other
things, in part from donations by his dental
patients back home.
Dr. Medianick’s visits to Ukraine will clearly
have a lasting impact, not just in the dental
health of the people he cared for, but for
their lives in general.
SEP TEM BER/OC TOBER 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
35