At the start of his professional life, Borges was a dentist and ran a successful practice for 18 years. Because he was trained in the scientific method of rejecting what cannot be proven through experimentation, one would suspect that he would therefore be naturally inclined to view the work of the shamans with some amount of skepticism. Yet, in the final analysis, Borges recognizes the value of their work. There's also a placebo effect. If you believe in what your doctor or healer is doing ,you are aiding your own recovery.
Shamans reconnect patients with their surroundings.
We don't have that in Western medicine. You can go on the Internet, get diagnosed, and get prescribed pills without ever seeing a human being. There's so much richness in the healing process that comes with caring. In keeping with his medical background, Borges is also involved with an organization called Interplast. The group sends doctors and dentists to impoverished areas around the globe to volunteer their expertise by treating children afflicted with cleft palate, a deformity where the roof of a child's mouth is essentially missing.