I found an interesting original research article in the Journal of the American Dental Association December 2020 edition on the subject of dental short-term missions.
The authors believe the participation in activities like this improve the quality of dental and dental hygiene care we provide on a daily basis. The reason this is can be explained by looking at how it affects the six aspects of our nature -- Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, Moral, Social and Spiritual. Good food for thought.
I explain how this type of work has affected me personally.