Community Service

 Head Start – Brooklyn, New York

Head Start was established in 1965 to for children ages 3 to 5 from families with low incomes to be introduced to student life . The goal of Head Start health services is that a child must be healthy to be ready to learn. Good oral health is essential to a child’s behavioral, speech, language, and overall growth and development. The number one health issue among children enrolled in Head Start nationwide is access to oral health services. Our Public Health Professor Anty Lam, provided us the platform to apply fluoride varnish to Head Start children at no cost. We had a blast taking care of these wonderful children and teaching them how to Brush, Floss, Rinse!

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Service Learning Group Project

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Along with my Service Learning Group, we visited Herricks High School in New Hyde Park, N.Y. to demonstrate and educate developmentally disabled students as well as their teachers on proper and effective home care (brushing, flossing and rinsing). Additionally, we wanted to establish a clear understanding of the difference between good oral hygiene and the consequences of bad oral hygiene.

Often times, children with developmental disabilities find it difficult to verbally communicate any feelings of pain. Since they have a tendency to under/over exaggerate pain and/or confuse pain with different parts of their body, our goal was to help them recognize signs/symptoms associated with dental pain and the importance of visiting the dentist.

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