牙齿卫生和领先启动团队提供筛查

Emilie Jenson, Public Information Office
3/7/2024

口腔卫生专业的一年级学生最近有机会见到了他们的第一批真正的病人。

In conjunction with Children’s Dental Health Month, around 100 preschool aged students from YOUR Inc. 整个2月份，启智计划都在爱荷华州中央校区参观了牙科卫生诊所。

卫生学一年级的学生为孩子们提供了检查主要牙齿问题的检查，以及氟化物清漆，并教育孩子们良好的牙齿卫生习惯和预防蛀牙。

据牙齿卫生项目协调员蕾妮·派珀（Renee Piper）说，这是许多“启智计划”学生第一次到牙科诊所就诊。

“We work in conjunction with the county’s I-SMILE coordinators to bring the Head Start kids in,” said Piper. “They are seen three times a year for fluoride, and we get to do the treatments during Children’s Dental Health Month, that way they can receive a screening and be checked for any urgent dental needs and if necessary, can be referred on to a dentist.”

派珀说，诊所访问帮助确定了36名接受转诊的儿童的重大牙科需求。

“We saw kids with cavities, a few cases of decay and a broken tooth,” said dental hygiene student Chloe Jones. “It was interesting seeing an underserved population.”

在为孩子们进行筛查的同时，学前教育诊所的日子也为学生们提供了一个学习的机会，让他们在儿科病人身上练习他们的技能。

“It was a new experience for us, we hadn’t seen kids in the clinic yet,” said Deni McDaniel, a first-year student who also had the opportunity to play Tooth Fairy. “We had worked on each other and on sim models in the clinic, but this was the first time really interacting with and helping kids.”

一年级学生萨凡纳·惠勒说，孩子们喜欢这次经历，就像牙齿卫生专业的学生喜欢学习一样。

“It acclimated them to a dental clinic setting,” said Wheeler. “They loved the lights and going for a ‘ride’ in the chair. When they were done, they got their goody bags and a coloring book.”

琼斯还在诊所里扮演了一段时间的牙仙。

“It added to the magical factor for them,” said Jones. “We handed out stickers and talked to them about taking care of their teeth. When they heard it from the Tooth Fairy perspective, they really listened.”

一些“启智计划”的学生甚至向牙仙子提出了一点挑战。

“They had some challenging questions that really put us on the spot to answer like ‘why do some kids get money, but you bring my friend candy,’” said McDaniel. “The kids were fun to work with and overall, I think we all enjoyed making them feel special.”

有关爱荷华州中央牙科卫生计划和诊所的更多信息，请访问/health_science/dental_hygiene/index.asp