Emerging Scholars Program Fall 2018
Alongside Professor Davide, RDH, MS, MSEd, myself and two other senior dental hygiene students began a research project over the summer of 2018 that was based on a community service activity that we participated in at the CUNY Graduate Center. In an effort to create awareness of our dental hygiene clinic and the services that we offer to the public, we invited the dental screening participants from the CUNY Graduate Center Wellness Festival to make an appointment for a dental cleaning. Based on their initial registration forms, we compiled data regarding their current oral health care habits, most recent dental visit, age, occupation, etc. After they completed their treatment in our clinic, we asked them to fill out a survey (anonymously) detailing their experience with our students, faculty and the value of the services provided. We then used this data to analyze where we can make improvements within our program and clinic facility. This has been a very interesting research project and its focus has grown immensely over the course of the past year. Additionally, this research was accepted into the Emerging Scholars Program for the duration of two semesters up to and including Spring 2019.
View the ESP research poster from Fall 2018 here:
View the ESP 2018 Book of Abstracts here:
Emerging Scholars Program Spring 2019
As a continuum of our prior research that was completed in the Fall of 2018, myself and two other senior dental hygiene students treated more of the participants from the CUNY Graduate Center in our clinic and continued to gather data from them based on their experience. In assessing the methodology used to initially survey the participants, we decided to gather more comprehensive information at the next dental screening event held at the CUNY Graduate Center in the spring of 2019. We asked participants questions related to currently experiencing dry mouth, if they think they could benefit from toothbrushing instruction, snoring at night, etc. These questions were recorded so that when the new participants visit our clinic for dental hygiene treatment, we have prior knowledge regarding their concerns and have a better “picture” of their overall health compared to their oral health. This research is ongoing and it is our hope that the freshman students will continue to treat the dental screening participants during their Fall 2019 semester. Further goals regarding this research project include seeking publishing opportunities in a dental journal. Additionally, I will be presenting this particular research poster as part of the Undergraduate Student Research Poster Competition at the upcoming ADHA 2019 Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
View the ESP research poster from Spring 2019 here:
