In my 4th semester at the Dental Hygiene program, my group and I did a community service for the Public Health class. We decided that we will reach out to one of the middle schools that my classmates son’s goes to and demonstrate oral hygiene to children as well as plan a local trip to community garden.

My role in the assignment was to create a power point presentation for the children. On the written paper, I was responsible for the implementation part of the of the assignment where I teach children how to read labels and explain “food pyramid” with main nutrients. I tried to make the presentation as interactive as possible. My group and I tried to use Lehman terms, so the children did not have any issues understanding the main points of the presentation.

We visited an elementary school and educated 9 and 10 years-old children how to brush their teeth properly. Also, we showed them a picture of the “food pyramid” with four layers, each layer focusing on one of the nutrients. Then we explained what carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins are. Together with the students we tried to match the food on the picture with four major nutrients. After children had learned the major nutrients, I taught them how to reach food labels. I explained what a serving size is, which foods we should try to eat more of, and which foods try to eat less of. The purpose of this exercise was to educate students that specific carbohydrates trigger bacteria in our mouth to create acid which in turn destroys the enamel. The most important aspect of this exercise was to teach them which products are classified as carbohydrates that cause caries lesions.

One of the group members had an amazing idea to get children interested in eating healthier. Our group decided to partner with a local community garden and get children involved in food growing process. Before implementing this exercise, we received parental consent and planned several trips to the garden so the children can plant the vegetables, observe the growth of the vegetables and on the last visit harvest their vegetables. Produce was used in a salad served during lunch on the final day of school. The point of this particular activity implements the “Tell, Show, Do” philosophy by getting the children directly involved in the food growing process.

My group and I took a combinational approach that involved classroom education, social interaction, and hands-on participation. It is our role as dental hygienist to educate and demonstrate proper oral hygiene and importance of maintaining goof oral hygiene. Our goal was not only to teach the students excellent oral hygiene, but to also educate them on the importance their diet can have on their oral cavity. We hope that by teaching the kids the proper way to brush, educating them on nutritional importance and showing them that you can grow your own fresh fruits and vegetables at low cost, we can anticipate that we will continue to see improvement on their overall oral care.

Below you can read the paper that was written for this project as well as power point presentation.

PH ppt (2)

Public Health Paper