Oral Health Fair

The first health disparity I would like to discuss is Oral health interventions among Hispanics, especially among Hispanic children. An article, “Community-based oral health self-care intervention for Hispanic families”, By Hull and other authors, focuses on monitories who are at high risk for poor oral health have dental caries, oral disease and not having much access to dental care based on their socioeconomic status Hull, 2013).

Because children are influenced by the family tradition and learn from their parents, it is important for parents to make sure that they are teaching proper oral care habits at a young age. The habits that children should learn at a young age are; keeping up with home dental care, receiving the dental care that people should, needing dental care but being enforced to go, brushing teeth as well as they should, being taught on how to control snacking between meals as well as they should, and being taught that dental care is indeed important. " Poor oral health has an impact upon children's health in general and dental caries can lead to a lack of appetite, problems with chewing, problems with sleeping and a decrease in school performance" (Abanto et al, 2011). Proper health education is somewhat

Over 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance. On top of that, almost a million emergency room visits last year resulted from preventable oral conditions. Many Americans today are unaware of how the condition of their dentition affects their overall health. Socioeconomic limitations, the lack of dental education in parents, eating habits, and simply the availability of dentists plays a key role in the state of children’s oral health; implementing a universal dental care program will help lower the barriers that many people face when it comes to receiving the dental care they need. The program will target high-risk individuals who are prone to dental caries and provide them with standard

Over 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance. On top of that, almost a million emergency room visits last year resulted from preventable oral conditions. Many Americans today are unaware of how the condition of their dentition affects their overall health. Socioeconomic limitations, the lack of dental education in parents, eating habits, and simply the availability of dentists plays a key role in the state of children’s oral health; implementing a universal dental care program will help lower the barriers that many people face when it comes to receiving the dental care they need. The program will target high-risk individuals who are prone to dental caries and provide them with standard treatment.

As per usual, I volunteered in the operatory of the Allen Saxe Dental Clinic. Today, I was the only dental assistant working. We had a moderate patient flow, but we seemed to get everybody out in good time. I interacted with the front desk receptionist, hygienists, and the dentists. Usually I would interact with the other pre-dental students volunteering, but today no one but me was there. My favorite dentist was in the office today. She was so happy to see me and she requested that I work with her, even though I was actually initially placed with another doctor. My interactions with the hygienists were no more than just a simple hello and good morning.

One of my patients just found out that she is pregnant, and what a coincidence, we had just had a lecture over oral health during pregnancy. I was excited to do OHI and share all the information I could think of with her. She was at ease knowing that having radiographies taken during a dental exam is safe for her baby. I think another of the areas I will focus on when appropriate is patient education regarding periodontal disease and the different levels or ways to treat it, and to inform those patients that periodontal disease can exacerbate other systemic diseases. And that unfortunately, periodontal disease is not something that goes away. I want to educate my patients and help them see the whole picture of oral health, I want to motivate them to a higher level of home oral care, it’s in our hands to inspire them and to teach them how to prevent caries, gingivitis and periodontal disease. I love talking about the benefits of xylitol with patients, especially for those with xerostomia. For those who are gum chewer lovers, why not share with them that they can chew gum and at the same time benefit their teeth by preventing bacteria to stick to their teeth, therefore protecting their teeth from decay. There are topics such as Fluoride

“The impact of unmet oral health care needs is magnified by the well-established connection between oral health and overall health” (Fineberg, H. 2011, p. ix). Oral health status is linked with general health, as evidenced by the association between poor oral health and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. Poor oral hygiene can also lead to other health issues such as, oral facial pain and digestive problems. “The silent epidemic of oral diseases disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities,

A Report of the Surgeon General stated that minority and low-income children in the United States experience poorer oral health and poorer access to dental health care services than do their majority and higher-income peers (Oral Health in America, 2000). Two major factors that determine access to dental care are the limited supply of both dentists and public financing for underserved populations (Mertz, 2002). ). Dental disease like tooth decay not only affects children’s overall health; it has other ramifications, including children’s hours lost from school, deteriorating school performance and behavior, and in extreme cases, serious disability and even death.

The Dental Lifeline Network provides oral care for people with limited financial income. DLN strives to change lives of countless people who lack access to dental care. The mission of the project I was working on is to find new ways to recruit new patients and volunteers. During my internship, I was focusing on Rhode Island, Texas, Illinois, and Iowa. I start researching and helping the DOS find the best ways to recruit new patient. For Rhode Island, I start researching and finding school nurses and agencies that works with youth or low income families and created spreadsheet to keep track of their contact information. I also created flyers and emailed the 30 school nurses and 8 agencies. Since the Rhode Island DOS program has a number of volunteer dentists waiting for a DOS patient, I emailed 21 dentists to remind them about the DOS program and ask if they can refer patients that will be eligible for the DOS program.

Dental health is one of the most important matters in our lives. Without proper dental tonicity, people can obtain dental problems, which can be as severe as death. In order to maintain proper dental care go to your dentist every six months. It is also important to change your toothbrush regularly, floss, use fluoride, and eat healthy foods. Healthy foods may consist of fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and drinking water is crucial to your dental health by maintaining a moisturized mouth. A moisturized mouth protects our hard and soft oral tissues. Children and adults should know the benefits of maintaining proper oral hygiene while preventing poor oral asepticism.. Not only does good oral hygiene affects our mouth it also affects our overall health.

The method from Health Education Journal was based on collecting and evaluating evidence, “…using a combined approach incorporating the Cochrane Public Health and Health Promotion Field Handbook and the Health Gains Notation in order to a develop a synthesis approach to reporting,” (Satur et al., 2010). However, Community Dental Health utilized electronic searching, iterative-hand searching, critical appraisal and data synthesis in which the primary research reviewed settings were at clinical, community, schools or other institutions in which children, elderly, people with handicaps and disabilities were the participants. Another difference in both articles is the conclusions. Community Dental Health concluded that the use of fluoride is efficient in reducing caries through oral health promotion, chairside oral health promotion is shown to be effective; however mass media programs have not. On the other hand, the article from Health Education Journal states that even though there is a respectable support in incorporating the oral health into the general health promotion, it is vital to observe the outcomes in oral health terms.

Dental Hygiene is very important to me and has been since I was a child, this has influenced my desire of becoming a pediatric dentist. In a personal interview i conducted with Dr.Bills she informed me of this, “Dental Hygiene is emphasized by all dentists, we want our patients to have elegant white teeth and pleasant breath”(Bills). I would like to teach children the importance of keeping their teeth brushed so that they will have a beautiful smile and healthy teeth. Pediatric Dentistry is a superb fit for me because I care about dental health and I want children to know the importance as well. It is never too early for children to learn how important dental hygiene is.

Engaging in over fifteen hours of service activities around campus and the Chicago neighborhood, I have served food for the homeless almost weekly and knit caps for pre-mature babies since rushing the fraternity during fall of 2017. These experiences have advanced my leadership skills and, most importantly, broadened my perspective on community health issues in the greater Chicago area. Exceling in spontaneous brainstorming of advertising techniques, my creativity helped raise over $300 for the fraternity scholarship fund through multiple fundraisers each quarter. With my dedication towards serving the community and immense interest in oral health, I know I will be able to advance advocacy for oral health in Chicago in the most effective way possible with Oral Health

Although considered preventable, 53.6% of Medicaid eligible kindergarteners studied in California had a history of dental caries and 27.8 % had decay present at the time of the screening (Dental Health Foundation, 2006). Teaching young children effective oral hygiene techniques is the most effective way to protect the child’s teeth and help them to develop a daily oral wellness routine ("Dental Health," 2015). By focusing on those most in need, Medicaid eligible preschool aged children, teaching and reinforcing effective oral hygiene strategies early in life will foster a lifelong habit of oral health wellness (Gardner, Lally, & Wardle, 2012).

Imagine after years of being dead, a human body is found and all that is really left of them is their teeth. Why? It may be because of the way they took care of their teeth while they were alive and the precaution methods they were educated about. Educating people about oral health is really important because teeth are the strongest bone in our body and they even preserve the most after we pass away, this means it is an essential factor to knowing how to protect them from getting a disease and keeping them as long as possible. Most patients are not aware of diseases in dentistry. Educating the older and the young generation will help to care for their oral health.