Community Research/Outreach

2018 Greater New York Smiles Program
The main purpose of this program is to engage the young students from New York City Public Schools in dental hygiene-related activities. City Tech dental hygiene were divided into stations such brushing at sink, brushing/flossing/singing, providing nutrition education, and playing games stations. I was assigned at the “Brushing at Sink” station. My objective was to motivate the children to brush with Fones Method and to excite them about the importance of dental/oral hygiene.

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2019 Service Learning Project: IVDU Girls School
The “Service Learning Field Project Activity” serves as an opportunity to provide community service and present oral health prevention activities. My teammates and I selected the Individualized Vocational Development Unit (IVDU) Girls School as our site. It is a school that nurtures and offers individualized care to young Jewish children with specials needs. We met with a group of 6 to 8 year old students and our goal was to have both the teachers and students to understand the importance of oral hygiene. Using the “tell, show, do” method, we provided basic oral hygiene instructions. At the end of the program, our goal is to have the audience brush for 2 minutes twice a day and be able to differentiate between “good and bad” snacks.

With the goal in mind, we exercised the process of dental hygiene process of care – assessment, process, implementation, and evaluation. We also utilized drawings, teeth models, and coloring worksheets to engage our target population.

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2019 Head Start Program
The Head Start Program is designed to provide educational and health services to young children from low-income families. Lead by the outreach coordinator, Prof. Lam, we visited the Neptune Head Start Program location to conduct a 30-minute dental health education. Our agenda included: showing a dental-related short video, engaging the children with “tell-show-do” activities, and discussing nutrition in relation to good oral hygiene. The entire experience was very rewarding as many children displayed interest and responded well to the presentation.

2019 Fluoride Varnish Program
Dental caries is a common childhood illness that especially affects those from low-income families. To combat this problem, fluoride varnish can be used. Lead by the program coordinator, Prof. Lam, we were able to visit Head Start Children Centers – centers that provide education and health services to ages 3 to 5 children from low-income families. We visited Neptune Ave Head Start Center to screen for Early Childhood Caries and apply fluoride varnish as a dental caries preventive method.

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