In our Public Health course we learned the many ways that health status and health behaviors are determined by influences at multiple levels. Individual circumstances, the environment, government policies all play a role in the health of the population. For this reason preventive, community-based programs and interventions are essential to protect populations from illness and diseases and thus provide them with the education that they can use to help make healthy lifestyle choices.

Head Start Program

In March we visited a Head Start early childhood center in Brooklyn, NY. We used developmentally appropriate activities to help children learn about proper oral hygiene and how to develop good dental health habits. During this activity the students watched a short animated video “Geena’s Tremendous Tooth Adventure”. We discussed topics related to oral hygiene such as proper tooth brushing and flossing, nutrition and the importance of regular dental visits. Our goal was to make the activity fun and educational. Watching the students learn about oral health was an extremely rewarding experience.

 

Service Learning Project      

                                                                                                             

This semester we also visited an elementary school in Astoria, Queens where we guided an oral health educational activity for a class of 5th grade students. During this activity we spoke with the children about essential oral hygiene habits and engaged in a few fun hands-on activities. We spoke about nutrition and the importance of limiting sugary foods and snacks. The students appeared very engaged as they asked many questions related to dental habits. Additionally we taught them about cavities, how they form and what we can do to prevent them. I especially liked this age-group because they asked many thoughtful questions and seemed to learn a lot from our activity.