Smiles for kids
On February 2nd 2013, I had the honor of participating in a wonderful program that my
school, Carrington College participated in called Smiles for Kids. This gave my class and myself the opportunity to give back to our community providing dental services for children in need. The services provided were patient education, radiology, prophylaxis, and restorative work. I had the role of being able to provide prophylaxix. The children would first stop to get their education where they learned about proper ways to care for their teeth, and certain things to avoid that are harmful to the mouth such as soda. They would then go to radiology to get a set of radiographs done to determine if and what restorative work is needed. Then they would come see me and some of my peers to get their teeth scaled if needed, and polished. The dentist would come in and review the radiographs and we would send them on their way to get any work done that was in need.
I learned so much about working with children, especially children that were in pain. Being able to talk with some of them and their families really put this career into perspective for me, and helped me realize just how important my role as dental hygienist is, and the impact I can have on these little people. I felt very proud to be able to answer questions that these children had, and they seemed very interested in what was going to happen next. It was also an emotional day for me, it was difficult to see some of these kids with less than ideal oral conditions, it saddened me to see that the biggest part of the reason they were in this condition was lack of education, but I took that opportunity to turn that experience into a positive one for both the kids and myself and keeping smiles on our faces, and utilizing every opportunity to tell the kids they were doing a great job keeping their teeth clean. I look forward to being able to apply this experience to my career as a Dental Hygienist, especially with the education. Being able to reflect on this experience will only better my ability to handle situation's where children and their family may not have the proper knowledge or recourse's to maintain a healthy mouth. I can and will be an advocate for my patients teeth.
References
Images:
Google image #1 retrieved on:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1188&bih=559&q=smile+for+kids&oq=smile+for+kids&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l8.1952.4755.0.4967.14.13.0.1.1.0.116.1012.12j1.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.8.img.kN78HLXKxeo#imgrc=nCBDjfmGRAJjKM%3A%3BW8SIyXqUe6HTOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.akidsplacedentistry.com%252Fimages%252Fgroup3.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.akidsplacedentistry.com%252F%3B300%3B199
Google image #2 retrieved on:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1188&bih=559&q=smile+for+kids&oq=smile+for+kids&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l8.1952.4755.0.4967.14.13.0.1.1.0.116.1012.12j1.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.8.img.kN78HLXKxeo#imgrc=Fh2dfR7R1tRCZM%3A%3BsJ3Cw7SNwJ0HTM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tri-c.edu%252FPublishingImages%252FGKAS-Logo.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tri-c.edu%252Fnews%252FPages%252FTri-C_offers_free_dental.aspx%3B259%3B250
On February 2nd 2013, I had the honor of participating in a wonderful program that my
school, Carrington College participated in called Smiles for Kids. This gave my class and myself the opportunity to give back to our community providing dental services for children in need. The services provided were patient education, radiology, prophylaxis, and restorative work. I had the role of being able to provide prophylaxix. The children would first stop to get their education where they learned about proper ways to care for their teeth, and certain things to avoid that are harmful to the mouth such as soda. They would then go to radiology to get a set of radiographs done to determine if and what restorative work is needed. Then they would come see me and some of my peers to get their teeth scaled if needed, and polished. The dentist would come in and review the radiographs and we would send them on their way to get any work done that was in need.
I learned so much about working with children, especially children that were in pain. Being able to talk with some of them and their families really put this career into perspective for me, and helped me realize just how important my role as dental hygienist is, and the impact I can have on these little people. I felt very proud to be able to answer questions that these children had, and they seemed very interested in what was going to happen next. It was also an emotional day for me, it was difficult to see some of these kids with less than ideal oral conditions, it saddened me to see that the biggest part of the reason they were in this condition was lack of education, but I took that opportunity to turn that experience into a positive one for both the kids and myself and keeping smiles on our faces, and utilizing every opportunity to tell the kids they were doing a great job keeping their teeth clean. I look forward to being able to apply this experience to my career as a Dental Hygienist, especially with the education. Being able to reflect on this experience will only better my ability to handle situation's where children and their family may not have the proper knowledge or recourse's to maintain a healthy mouth. I can and will be an advocate for my patients teeth.
References
Images:
Google image #1 retrieved on:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1188&bih=559&q=smile+for+kids&oq=smile+for+kids&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l8.1952.4755.0.4967.14.13.0.1.1.0.116.1012.12j1.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.8.img.kN78HLXKxeo#imgrc=nCBDjfmGRAJjKM%3A%3BW8SIyXqUe6HTOM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.akidsplacedentistry.com%252Fimages%252Fgroup3.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.akidsplacedentistry.com%252F%3B300%3B199
Google image #2 retrieved on:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1188&bih=559&q=smile+for+kids&oq=smile+for+kids&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l8.1952.4755.0.4967.14.13.0.1.1.0.116.1012.12j1.13.0...0.0...1ac.1.8.img.kN78HLXKxeo#imgrc=Fh2dfR7R1tRCZM%3A%3BsJ3Cw7SNwJ0HTM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tri-c.edu%252FPublishingImages%252FGKAS-Logo.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tri-c.edu%252Fnews%252FPages%252FTri-C_offers_free_dental.aspx%3B259%3B250