Volunteer Dentist in Pacific Islands Sees 31 Years of Miracles

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By Jackie Asher, Church News

Dr. Wayne Chisholm and his wife, Jeannine, of Monroe, Utah, took their first trip to Tonga in 1995 to do volunteer dentistry work. Now, 31 years later, at age 84, Chisholm has been back to Tonga 17 times, plus 17 visits to Kiribati and three to Samoa to establish dental clinics, train volunteers and serve as a missionary.

Elder Brad Smith — a service missionary serving as a co-chair for the Church’s dental advisory committee — began visiting the Pacific in conjunction with Chisholm in 2011 while working at a dental school in Glendale, Arizona. He called Chisholm “the architect of increased oral health in the Pacific.”

“I don’t think Wayne had any idea how many thousands of people would be blessed by his humble beginnings,” Elder Smith said.

For the Chisholms, this service has been about more than just dentistry.

Jeannine Chisholm — who her husband called “the heart and soul” of their service — died two years ago. Her headstone reads, “Because I have been given much, I too must give.” Wayne Chisholm said it all boils down to that.

Elder Smith echoed that sentiment.

“We give our hearts in service to others in hope it can be symbolic of a contrite heart as a small gift to the Savior.”

‘We Don’t Sit Idly By’

Wayne and Jeannine Chisholm first became aware of the opportunity to serve in Tonga through the Ensign Academy of Dentistry, then called the Academy of LDS Dentists, while operating a dentistry practice in Monroe. The nonprofit organization sponsored the Chisholms’ first trip to Tonga, where Wayne Chisholm spent a week providing volunteer dental services in a hospital and another week at an elementary school. The two knew they had to return the following year.

“We just felt loved, really, is the word,” Chisholm said. “We just felt loved by those folks, and I wanted to go back.”

He said he had no idea their first trip would turn into 31 years of service, but he now recognizes God’s hand through it all.

“As I look back over those years, the Lord’s just been directing me.”

Chisholm did more than just provide his own dental services. Over the years, the Chisholms worked to establish dental clinics in Nuku’alofa, Tonga; Apia, Samoa; and Eita, Kiribati, all of which are housed in Church-owned secondary schools.

Read this related story Dental clinics in Pacific create smiles of self-reliance

To help these clinics thrive, the couple recruited other dentists to volunteer at the clinics for several weeks at a time, and Wayne Chisholm trained local returned and prospective missionaries to work as dental assistants.

Additionally, young and senior service missionaries now assist at those clinics. In fact, Wayne and Jeannine Chisholm were called to serve as missionaries at the Tonga clinic in 2003.

When Elder and Sister Smith began visiting the Pacific, they sought to build self-reliance in the people. They began establishing dental assisting programs in Tonga and Samoa so locals could receive dental assistant certifications and be hired by the government.

Wayne Chisholm estimated that each clinic sees between 150 and 200 patients each week, which according to the Church’s Pacific Newsroom makes for a grand total of 200,000 patients served in Tonga since the clinic’s opening, plus 100,000 in Samoa and 10,000 in Kiribati.

“We don’t sit idly by,” Chisholm said.

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Blessed by Friendship

The Chisholms and the Smiths feel their service has blessed them as much as it has the people in the Pacific Islands.

“Sherrie and I and Wayne and Jeannine will always feel that our small offering has been returned a hundredfold in blessings of every kind,” said Elder Smith.

One of the blessings of their service has been friendships with the people they serve.

Wayne Chisholm said many people who come to the clinic call him “Papa Chis,” and several people have named children after him and Jeannine Chisholm.

Many locals who volunteer at the clinics end up going to college and serving missions — some even become dentists. Chisholm said it’s rewarding to watch them blossom.

“That’s one of the things that we’ve tried to emphasize with them is how intelligent [they are] and how ‘the world is yours. All you got to do is realize that you can do it.’”

God Is in the Details

During his trips to the Pacific, Wayne Chisholm saw miracles “almost on a daily basis.”

“I’ve learned that [Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ] are in the details of your life and that They love you. They love all of Their sons and daughters,” he said.

He recalled one miracle.

One of the Kiribati clinic volunteers — a recently returned missionary and native of Kiribati — contracted scurvy, a disease caused by a vitamin C deficiency. The disease left the young woman weak, with magenta-colored gums that hung over her teeth. Chisholm said that in severe cases, scurvy can kill people.

Chisholm gave her vitamin C supplements and within just a week, her gums were pink and healthy again.

“Now if that isn’t a miracle, I’ve never had one,” he said.

Chisholm also sees the clinics as a great missionary tool. He estimated that 200 people have joined the Church in Tonga as a direct result of visiting the dental clinic, and 100 in Samoa.

Chisholm retired from Chisholm Family Dentistry, now owned by his son, in July 2025. However, he still plans to visit the Pacific Islands and is planning another trip to Kiribati for early April.