On March 9th, a group of D21s participated in a Brimfield Elementary Dental Outreach program and volunteered to explain the importance of oral health.
Amanda Ryan (D21) refects: “Jonathan Weber (D21), Arjun Gupta (D21), Sho Taniguchi (D21), and I traveled to Brimfield MA. We visited multiple kindergarten classrooms to teach them more about dental health and hygiene. We used engaging activities and worked with the children to help them stay attentive. We all learned how better to talk to children and used our simple language techniques to convey the information at an age appropriate level. The dress up tooth and flossing activity was a favorite activity among the kids. We found that they needed us to demonstrate it before hand to show them how to do it. Once they understood they all wanted to take part. Having a piece of fabric as “food” or “bacteria” that they had to remove was very helpful in getting them to understand how they needed to floss both sides of the teeth interproximal and not just down the middle and up. Adding a velcro pom-pom for them to remove is a great addition to the activity. We also had the children draw pictures of food that they should eat/drink more and less of. The children really got into this activity and had fun drawing and thinking of different ideas. We also used the dinosaur to show the children the right ways to brush their teeth ad had them practice with him to show us. At the end of each class we handed out tooth brushes and stickers which they loved. I talked to the school nurse following our time with the children and she was very happy and welcoming to having us in the school. She said the previous class has come to her and said it went really well and they were glad we came. I loved working with the children as this is something I enjoyed doing in undergrad. I am currently in the process of arranging another time for me to visit the school again, this time with pre-k and or 2nd grade depending on the availability of the 2nd grade class.”
