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Ramona Lara, 6, of Hastings visits with the Tooth Fairy, portrayed by first-year dental student Angela Cook, during Dental Day 13 at the Colle of Dentistry in Lincoln. |
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From left to right – Zulma Roman, 6, of West Point; Erick Estevez, 8, of Grand Island; and Elias Terrazas, 9, got autographs from Ortho Man and Pedo Man. Ortho Man, far left, was portrayed by first-year dental student Michael Sullivan, and Pedo Man, far right, was portrayed by first-year dental student Bill Laun. |
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Nick Rodriquez, 9, of Lexington with third-year dental student Richard Clabaugh. Rodriquez received several crowns, sealants and restorations during his trip to the College of Dentistry on Friday. |
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Third-year dental student Kudzai Chikwava numbs the mouth of 11-year-old Roberto Lopez of Lexington in preparation to extract one of his teeth. |
But for 230 children from several Nebraska communities who attended Children’s Dental Day at the UNMC College of Dentistry on Friday, it was a bit like going to a carnival.
“It’s awesome,” said 11-year-old Yessica Hurtado, of Lexington, Neb.
Even if she was facing getting her teeth worked on, Hurtado wasn’t worried. In fact, she said, she would come back again.
The 13th annual dental day provided around $125,000 in services to needy children from Lexington, Grand Island, Hastings, Madison, Columbus, Norfolk and Lincoln.
Services provided at the one-day event included cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, cavity fillings, education and some emergency care.
Last year, nearly 500 children received more than $200,000 worth of services through Children’s Dental Day events held at the UNMC College of Dentistry in Lincoln, Hastings and several communities in the Nebraska Panhandle.
The UNMC College of Dentistry hosted its first Children’s Dental Day in the fall of 2001. The value of care delivered over the past six years by the UNMC College of Dentistry exceeds $1 million.
“Children’s Dental Day is an opportunity for the college to exercise both its education and outreach missions,” said David Brown, Ph.D., executive associate dean at the College of Dentistry and the coordinator of the event. “The annual event helps underserved Nebraska children while providing an opportunity for dental and dental hygiene students to gain more clinical experience.”
While upper level dental and dental hygiene students work in the clinics, many of the first-year students facilitate games with the children, including those that teach good snack choices, how soda pop affects their teeth, what decay looks like and how to brush and floss.
Lunch and healthy snacks also are provided and each child receives a goody bag of items, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, activity book and stickers.
“This event not only provides badly needed care for underserved children, but also strengthens the spirit of volunteerism among our students, faculty, and staff,” said John Reinhardt, D.D.S., dean of the College of Dentistry. “We give a lot on Children’s Dental Day but I think we receive even more.”
Children participating in the event are identified and pre-screened in their communities by volunteers including school nurses, members of faith-based organizations, Head Start, dentists and dental hygienists.
These volunteers donate their time to identifying needy children, providing oral health screenings that indicate the type of care the children will need when they come to the college. In many cases, the volunteers come with the children for emotional support and translation services.