A unique collaboration with a local high school helps dental students learn the value of community service. The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) has partnered with Baltimore’s Digital Harbor High School to provide oral health educational programs for high school students.
A team of 16 second-year dental students developed and delivered an interactive oral health presentation to a class of ninth graders at the science and technology high school. The presentation covered important topics related to nutrition, diseases and infections, while emphasizing the importance of prevention to maintain optimal oral health. “Teenagers can be a challenging audience,” says faculty coordinator Vanessa Anseloni, PsyD, PhD, director of the behavioral science program and assistant professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences. She challenged the dental students to be dynamic and engaging. “With adolescents, the challenge is to be very interactive with them,” she says. “It is important to not only deliver information, but also to be sensitive to the realities of this particular age group.”
The dental students put themselves in the shoes of 14-year-olds to choose oral health topics that would be useful and interesting for their audience, explains Aidan Gallagher, DDS ’17. Gallagher, who had never worked with high school students before, jumped at the opportunity to learn how to communicate more effectively with teens. He and his peers discussed hot topics for high school students, like the dangers of drinking and smoking, but also focused on chronic diseases with oral health connections, like STDs and diabetes. “We want them to understand that it is very easy to stay on top of you oral health, but it can deteriorate very quickly if you treat your mouth in the wrong way,” Gallagher says. “We told them: ‘You have your adult teeth now. These are going to be with you for the rest of your life.’”
UMSOD plans to expand its partnership with Digital Harbor High School, offering oral health lectures for additional classes and possibly providing dental screenings. “Ultimately, the partnership is a valuable learning experience for students from both schools,” Anseloni says. “This programs helps our students develop cultural competency. Going to a setting that is very different from the dental school where they work on a daily basis gives them the opportunity to serve, while challenging them to quickly adjust to the needs of the environment.”
UMSOD would like to thank Dr. Demetria Newsome, assistant principal, and Ms. Elizabeth Golightly, faculty member, for their assistance in launching this partnership.