A patient in pain discovers that no one is caring for her any more
14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, October 18, 2025 — At the “César Escalante” Dental Clinic in the city of Matanzas, not even the characteristic smell of the dentist remains. The echo of the hallways replaces the hum of the switched-off equipment, and the silence is broken only when a frustrated patient leaves, despairing. Despite its status as a teaching center, not a single student can be seen wandering through its halls, where generations of dentists were once trained.
On the corner of Zaragoza and Contreras, the establishment—which should serve more than 19,000 people—looks empty. “I found the reception empty and the hallways deserted; it gives the impression of abandonment,” a Matanzas resident told 14ymedio. This Wednesday, she arrived with a damaged tooth and a cloth with some ice cubes, almost melted, to help her cope with the sharp pain caused by an inflamed nerve.
With her eyes turned upward every time the intense discomfort escalated, the patient ran into a young woman after a while who informed her that they were only seeing urgent cases. “In the end, I couldn’t tell if I was talking to an employee or a patient because I had nothing to identify her,” she says, unsure whether her situation would fall under the “urgent” category.
To ensure treatment, she has arrived with some supplies that are in short supply at the facility. “I brought sterile gloves, gauze, lidocaine, and a syringe with one of those little needles you use for your mouth,” she explains to this newspaper. A roll of ham and cheese, wrapped in paper, and a cola complete the supplies she keeps in her bag. “In case the person treating me hasn’t been able to eat lunch,” she adds.
For the staff, the critical situation at the clinic, including prolonged power outages and a lack of dental supplies, is a serious problem. “The dissatisfaction is not only felt by the public, but also by those of us who love our profession. We’re practically working the way we did a century ago,” acknowledges a dentist who mostly goes to work “to waste time because there’s either no electricity or no water.”
In the long hallway leading to the consulting rooms, virtually all the doors are closed and unstaffed. A few years ago, the dreaded sound of dental drills, the clatter of metal instruments, and the dentist’s voices urging a patient in pain to calm down would come from inside those cubicles. All of that is missed amid the silence that now pervades the entire room.
The woman waiting to be seen presses the ice cubes against her left cheek and stares at the ceiling. Her lips move in a very low prayer. A murmur in which she asks for someone in a white coat, a smile on their face, and the ability to take away the pain that keeps her from sleeping or living.
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