humanitarian trip
In July 2016, I was able to take part in a humanitarian trip to the village of Pachancho of the Andes mountains in Ecuador. We brought our own equipment and supplies to set up a week-long pop-up dental clinic for the indigenous people of the village and surrounded villages. People walked for miles to get there before the doors opened at 7am. Many had never before seen a dentist. The leader of the trip, my boss at the time, informed me that one of the leading causes of death up there is an untreated dental abscess, and the subsequent spreading thereof. This is a good example of where patient education can go a long way in the prevention of such instances. Teaching oral hygiene, with the use of a translator, was an important goal of the pop-up clinic.
public health project – Escape the vape
Also found under “Research Projects” is my group presentation for our Public Health class in our final semester. We would normally have made an in-person group presentation on a relevant oral health topic and audience of our choice. Due to Covid-19, and most learning taking place remotely, we followed through with the research and planning, but presented the information to our classmates instead. My group chose the very relevant topic of vaping/e-cigarette use with the target population being teenagers/high school students. Using scholarly resources, this project opened my eyes to the countless dangers associated with this recent trend. It is not only important for us as dental hygienists to stay up-to-date on topics such as this, but we must also be able to relay the information in a clear and nonjudgemental manner. This project inspired and prepared us to do just that.
