Look mom, no cavities!

Dental assistant Juliette Thomas is surrounded by children at Nelson Whynder Elementary School.

Smile! The folks at Dalhousie’s Faculty of Dentistry are making it easier for Preston residents to do just that.

For two half days each week, a dental instructor, two dental students and a dental assistant staff member from the Faculty of Dentistry attend the satellite clinic at Nelson Whynder Elementary School to care for children and people from the surrounding communities.

“Research done on children’s oral health status across the province, by dental faculty member Dr. Amid Ismail in the early 1990s, indicated the children in the North Preston area were in particular need of professional oral health care,” says Bruce Moxley, manager of clinical affairs at Dalhousie’s Faculty of Dentistry. Two of the reasons identified were a lack of fluoride in the local water supply and limited access to dentists.

Dr. Ismail persuaded the principal of the new North Preston school to provide space for two dental chair suites. The Faculty of Dentistry arranged with the former Dartmouth Board of Education to use this space and develop it for a dental clinic. Outfitted with dental chairs and diagnostic and care equipment, the clinic opened in 1994. It also offers emergency dental care to adults from the community.

Dental assistant Juliette Thomas, who is from North Preston, spends time at the school each week to arrange appointments, seek permission from parents and generally organize and operate this clinic. There are approximately 160 children in the school who receive annual dental cleanings, care for cavities, and other dental care.

“I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to work and give back to my community where I live and went to elementary school for most of my childhood,” says Ms. Thomas. “For me, North Preston is a very unique community with a lot of resources that most people may not have or know of. It is a joy for me every time I’m there.”

“This is a very popular and unique clinic,” adds Mr. Moxley. “After 13 years, the clinic continues to receive wide support from the community. (Juliette) is very proactive at working with teachers, the principal and parents to arrange for activities in classrooms and sometimes a play during Oral Health Month in April.

“The dental students find this experience  very beneficial as a community health
care experience.”

The Preston clinic isn’t the only example of Dalhousie’s Faculty of Dentistry reaching out to communities in need. The faculty has an even longer community relationship with Harbour View School in North Dartmouth, another area where research in the early 1980s identified a need for extra oral health care to be provided to local children. With the assistance of the North Dartmouth Girls and Boys Club van service, the Harbour View School clinic provides oral health education and care to children from a half dozen Dartmouth schools.

“When you visit these clinics, meet the children receiving care and see the walls of photos staff have arranged for, you cannot help but note how excited the children are to have ‘no cavities’ and to be getting the care they need,” says Mr. Moxley. “The faculty, student and staff interaction the children receive is excellent, and, for the students, these clinics are an exciting window into the area of providing community-based care.

The Faculty of Dentistry is negotiating with the Halifax Regional School Board in cooperation with the North Preston Community Oral Health Committee to expand dental care facilities at Nelson Whynder Elementary School. And, Mr. Moxley says he hopes to next make arrangements for another school-based clinic, possibly in Halifax’s north end.