‘Purple pride’ is in full effect at Niagara College.
The national colour of dental hygiene will not only be proudly worn by Niagara College students preparing to enter the profession but will light up a local landmark – all in honour of National Dental Hygienists Week April 4-10.
Almost 50 senior Dental Hygiene students are ready to sink their teeth into promoting oral health and their profession with a week of virtual initiatives. A dedicated Instagram page @ncdhweek21 has been launched for students to share educational and interactive information related to oral health and the dental hygiene profession. Students will also use their own personal social media accounts to help spread the word throughout the week.
To learn more about habits and perceptions around oral health in the College community, students are launching a National Dental Hygienists Week Survey. Participants who complete the survey will be entered into draws for a number of giveaways during the week – including electric toothbrushes, oral health supplies and gift cards. All Niagara residents are welcome to participate.
Student efforts to promote National Dental Health Week will also be visible in the broader community. The Main Street Bridge in Welland will be lit purple on the evenings of April 8 and 9. The bridge lighting was initiated by the College’s Dental Hygiene program who worked with the Welland Downtown Business Improvement Area, the City of Welland and the Niagara Region to make the lighting possible.
“Let’s support all the dental hygienists by helping them promote the importance of oral health during National Dental Hygienists Week April 4-10,” said Welland Mayor Frank Campion.
Professor Alaina Gauthier noted that marking NDH week enables students to strengthen connections with their colleagues and their profession -one that encourages collaboration and cooperation between colleagues and clients.
“The goal for our students is simple: to spread awareness of the importance of oral health and to spread awareness of this incredible profession that embraces diversity, promotes total wellness, and encourages compassion,” said Gauthier. “National Dental Hygienists Week is the perfect way for us to reach out to the community on a larger scale to educate, promote and interact about oral health and our profession.”
While previous classes of Dental Hygiene students have celebrated National Dental Hygienists Week with an annual event at the College’s Applied Health Institute, students have taken a different approach this year due to on-campus COVID-19 safety measures. Gauthier applauded students for creating new ways to mark the week.
“Our students have become incredibly versatile and adaptable in the wake of the pandemic,” she said. “These students are so much fun and are finding some really neat ways to interact online. Our Instagram page has been so incredibly interactive thus far, including a post on tagging all your favourite people and passing on a ‘smile’ as a random act of kindness.”
Student experience
Student Vanessa Lefebvre has been preparing for National Dental Hygienists Week since the beginning of the Winter term. She designed ‘purple spirit wear’ for the initiative, in collaboration with her classmates, including t-shirts featuring the text ‘easily distracted by teeth’ made available for students to purchase. She also helped with creating the oral health survey for the College community.
“I am sad we can’t all be together … however, the experience of celebrating NDH Week during a pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a story I can share with a fellow dental hygienist down the road,” said Lefebvre.
Students Lauren Voelkner and Kara Matthews set up the @ncdhweek21 Instagram page in early March to gain a social media following and hype up participation for the event. They collaborated on ideas and developed content to post, and used a College discussion board platform to gain insight into ideas that students would enjoy reading posts about.
“With an optimistic attitude, we believe that celebrating virtually will be a great opportunity to reach a larger audience for spreading awareness about the dental hygiene profession, said Voelkner. “With every post created, we gain more knowledge about the dental health profession through all the research we conduct before developing content.”
For Matthews, the week is an opportunity to promote her newfound enthusiasm for the field of oral health. While she didn’t grow up with a passion for the dental field like many of her classmates, she enrolled in the program as a mature student interested in a career change.
“As a child, I had every dental issue, appliance and orthodontic you can think of. I was terrified of the dentist,” she recalled. “As an adult, all I remember is the kindness and comfort shown to me by the dental team, and am forever grateful for the dental work I had done to maintain a healthy smile.”
Now, Matthews is working towards her dream of being an educator and encouraging healthy smiles for others – especially those who are afraid of going to the dentist as she once was.
“With the Dental Hygiene program at Niagara College, my excitement for this field and oral health has grown,” she said. “I have learned more than I had ever imagined and am constantly inspired by my educators and peers. I have also met friends for life, and cannot wait to continue in this career with them.”
Organized by the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, National Dental Hygienists Week is marked annually April 4-10 by dental hygienists across Canada to promote the awareness of oral health in their communities.
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- Dental Hygiene students are ready to put their purple on, April 4-10, for National Dental Hygienists Week. -Supplied photos
Dental Hygiene is a three-year advanced diploma program based at the Applied Health Institute at Niagara College’s Welland Campus. Students study in six consecutive terms (24 months) and gain pre-clinical practice and clinical opportunities at NC’s state-of-the-art, on-campus Dental Clinic. They also access learning opportunities through placement experiences accredited by the Commission of Dental Accreditation of Canada. Program graduates are eligible to write the National Dental Hygiene Certification Board exam and, following its successful completion, become a registered dental hygienist in Ontario.
