Dental hygiene students visit Children’s Center
by Julie Gray, DH’03

Senior dental hygiene student Mimi Lee shows a kindergartner how to brush off plaque.

Last quarter the Loma Linda Children’s Center kindergarten class was visited by a group of senior dental hygiene students who presented healthful snacking, plaque control, and proper brushing technique. The students performed three puppet skits to present the material, and the kids loved it. There were also age-appropriate activities for hands-on learning. These included identifying healthy snacks from a mixture of healthful and non-healthy snacks, disclosing the children’s teeth so they could see plaque, and brushing off the plaque using the techniques shown to them.

“The children were brushing and talking about healthy snacks and yucky plaque for weeks afterward,” explains Mrs. Lara Logan, teacher of the kindergarten class. She went on to say that the kids enjoyed the puppet plays and want them to come back. Another classroom at the Children’s Center has requested that the hygiene students come and present the same lessons to their group.

A lasting impressions was left with the kids. The dental hygiene students learned a little bit more about giving dental hygiene instruction to young children, and using education and newly acquired skills to reach out to the community around us. It was also a lot of fun!

Senior dental hygiene student Christine Gill reads a story about healthful snacking to the children.