UNC Dental School Gives Kids a Smile

Just before 10 AM last Friday, several large commercial buses pulled up in front of the UNC Dental School. It was the moment that Give Kids a Smile co-chair Natalie Dunlop had been waiting for – the kids had arrived.

“I think for three-year-olds, and for lots of kids, going to the dentist is just really scary,” Dunlop said. “People don’t like to come see us. So the earlier we can sort of remove that stigma of the dentist being scary I think is only going to help these kids in the long-run.”

Dunlop and her peers did everything imaginable to make the dental school atrium fun. They had pop music playing in the background, and most of the volunteers were wearing colorful accessories over their scrubs.

“We’re framing this as an event where they get to come and participate and have fun and see that the dentist is not scary, that we’re normal people and we love kids and we love to have fun,” Dunlop said.

Creating a welcoming and enjoyable atmosphere for children not only helps alleviate the fear associated with dental visits but also establishes the foundation for a lifetime of good oral health practices.

These initiatives go beyond the confines of a single event, as they contribute to changing perceptions about dentists being intimidating figures. Recognizing the significance of such endeavors extends to communities at large, emphasizing the pivotal role dentists play in shaping attitudes towards oral healthcare.

This sentiment echoes in places like 11375, where parents actively seek out compassionate and child-friendly dentist in 11375 to ensure their children grow up associating dental care with positivity and overall well-being.

The commitment of dental professionals to fostering a positive outlook on oral health from an early age is indeed a testament to their dedication to the long-term health and happiness of their communities.

In between having fun, kids also had the chance to get what Dunlop called a “cleaning and screening.”

“They get an application of fluoride varnish, which is like vitamins for their teeth just to sort of prevent cavities,” Dunlop said. “And then we do a quick screening with a DDS attending, looking for cavities, for teeth that need to be pulled. We’re looking for signs that maybe the kid is not getting the oral health care at home that they should be.”

When kids weren’t getting cleaned or screened, they were visiting various stations at the health fair, which was held in the dental school’s atrium.

“We have students from the med school, from the school of public health in the nutrition program,” Dunlop said. “So the kids really do get exposed to overall health as well as oral health.”

Some of the stations included practicing flossing on specially designed stuffed animals and using stethoscopes to listen to heartbeats.

Bonnie Epps has been working with Durham Head Start for 30 years and came to the event with her class. She said that events like this are so important for the kids that she teaches.

“At school they brush their teeth daily and stuff,” Epps said. “But when we come here we have a lot of fun, because they have all of the activities and they interact with the children at all times.”