Brightening smiles for a group of local elementary school children was the mission for NC dental students, as the College recently joined community partners to host this year’s Shiny Smiles program.
Shiny Smiles, which took place at the Welland Campus Dental Clinic on March 29, provides free dental treatment to local children with limited or no access to dental care. The initiative is a collaboration between Niagara College, Niagara Region Public Health, community dentists, the District School Board of Niagara, the Niagara Catholic District School Board, the Welland Neighbourhood Project, and Kiwanis.
“The Shiny Smiles program continues annually due the strength of the partnerships among the community stakeholders and their unfailing commitment to helping kids,” said Gloria Morris, manager, Dental Program, at Niagara Region Public Health Family Health Division. “Niagara College is an ambassador of oral health in Welland, not only because they train students for careers in oral health, but because they open their clinic doors to host dental treatment services for kids participating in Shiny Smiles.”
At Niagara College, more than 60 Dental Assisting (DA) and Dental Office Administration (DOA) students participated this year; DAs took part in the restorative procedures while the DOA students helped children in the waiting room. Several faculty and staff members also volunteered for the day.
“Our students benefit from this experience by developing the confidence and skills necessary to help the kids overcome any misconceptions or fears they may have in the dental setting,” said Jennifer Karnay, faculty, School of Allied Health. “The NC students and the children have a great time while the children receive the necessary dental treatment to help improve their overall health and well-being.”
It proved to be a valuable learning experience for NC students.
Jordyn Elgie learned how to “go with the flow” and deal with the unplanned while she helped her patient, a little girl. “I became friends with her right from the start. She got to experience the instruments that I most commonly use,” said Elgie. “I was able to demonstrate ‘show, tell, do’ … a technique we use in dental assisting to demonstrate something to show that it is okay, explain what is happening, and then do it again so they can experience it one more time.”
Maggie Huibers noted that she learned a lot by being able to watch and interact with the visiting children.
“I realized was that a lot of the kids had no idea what was happening and why they were there; many probably had not been to the dentist before,” said Huibers. “This meant that we were their first experience and really what was going to set the tone of future dental appointments.”
Huibers noted that she learned the importance of really paying attention to not only the children’s verbal expressions but to their actions, to determine how they were feeling during the appointment.
“If a kid was getting nervous or was in pain they would show it on their face or hands and that is something that we should be paying attention to so we can help them feel better,” she said. “I also realized the importance of explanation. Between all the personal protective equipment we wear and all the ‘strange’ tools and equipment, it is scary if you just go right to it, but showing them that ‘I have to put on this silly dress and you better not laugh at me’ really made them more relaxed.”
Emily Kelly enjoyed introducing children to the dental clinic as a fun and interactive place. She recalled working with an eight year old who was nervous about the dental visit.
“I was able to show her that it’s fun to visit the office and not a place that’s considered ‘scary,'” said Kelly. “I loved this experience because I was able to watch how she grew by being nervous at the beginning of the visit to being super relaxed and comfortable at the end of the visit.
“She even drew a picture that said, ‘I love the dentist.'”
