For Dr. Viviana Mejías, dentistry was never meant to exist only inside the walls of a clinic.
It was meant to travel by boat to remote islands.
To reach children forgotten by traditional healthcare systems.
To restore dignity through compassion and human connection.
Long before joining the Global Outreach Division of Unspoken Smiles as a licensed dentist, Dr Viviana first entered the organization as an Unspoken Smiles Fellow while still a student at ULACIT.
At the time, she was already making an impact in San José, Costa Rica, where she served as President of GOES ULACIT Student Government. Known for her ability to inspire collaboration and community engagement, Dr Viviana quickly emerged as one of the university’s most respected young leaders — balancing academic excellence with a growing passion for humanitarian service.
But it was through the vision of the Unspoken Smiles Fellowship that her purpose fully evolved.
The Unspoken Smiles Fellow program was created to develop the next generation of humanitarian oral healthcare leaders — students and young professionals committed not only to clinical excellence, but to service, prevention, education, and global outreach. Fellows are immersed in real-world humanitarian experiences designed to expose future healthcare leaders to the realities of underserved communities across Latin America and beyond.
For Dr Viviana, that experience became transformational.
After earning her dental license, she officially joined the organization’s Global Outreach Division and participated in her first major humanitarian mission to the San Blas Islands of Panama — one of the most geographically isolated regions in the world, where many indigenous communities are reachable only by boat through the Caribbean archipelago.
Far removed from urban healthcare infrastructure, the San Blas Islands present enormous challenges to consistent dental access, especially for children. For many families, preventive oral healthcare remains extremely limited.
Yet it was there, among the turquoise waters and remote island villages, that Dr Viviana’s calling became undeniable.
Colleagues describe her ability to connect with children as extraordinary. Whether comforting anxious patients, leading oral health education activities, or simply sharing laughter between treatments, Dr Viviana brought a level of warmth and empathy that transcended language and circumstance.
“This experience didn’t just impact the communities we served — it transformed her as a healthcare leader.”
That transformation reflects a broader shift happening within modern dentistry itself.
A new generation of dental professionals is redefining the field through humanitarian outreach, prevention-focused care, and social impact initiatives aimed at reducing healthcare inequities worldwide. Increasingly, young clinicians are recognizing that dentistry is not only about treating disease — it is about building trust, restoring confidence, and reaching populations too often left behind.
From student leadership in Costa Rica to humanitarian outreach in one of the world’s most remote island regions, Dr. Viviana Mejías embodies the future of service-centered oral healthcare.
And while her journey is only beginning, her impact is already being felt far beyond the classroom — and far beyond the clinic.