Hurricane Florence made landfall south of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on Sept. 14. Classified at its peak as a Category 4 hurricane, the storm’s winds reached speeds of 130 mph. It caused 53 casualties and at least $12.7 billion worth of damage from flooding to the area in its path, according to an Oct. 24, 2018, Engineering News-Record article. The hurricane might be over, but flooding remains. In some areas, it may take years to rebuild from the damage.
This April will mark the 10th annual Philadelphia Oral Cancer Walk & 5K hosted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Through this event, dental students, with the help of faculty, alumni and local businesses, work with the Philadelphia community to raise awareness for oral cancer by performing screenings and fundraising for the Oral Cancer Foundation in its work to provide access to care. Last year, the event raised $18,000 for the organization, with more than 500 runners, volunteers and patients who participated.
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) was honored to have received the Dentistry in the Community Grant in 2017. When the applications rolled out for the national grants, we were having discussions with the organization, Ability360, to provide an oral health event for them. We received the grant in early 2017, and we were on our way to change the world. Our program is known for it’s dedication to the community, and providing to the underserved areas of Phoenix is what we set out to do.
This year, our upperclassmen wanted to make a greater effort to reach out to incoming students. Our dental program at Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health is unique in that we have two campuses. For the first two years of our program, students attend courses and learn in our beautiful simulation lab in Kirksville, Missouri. Our students then transition to our St. Louis clinic for the final two years of the program.
Together our executive members created a welcome event to promote connections between first and second year students. We developed a photo scavenger hunt with teams consisting of small groups. It was very successful, and we learned a few key things about hosting this event.
I was very fortunate to be selected by my chapter to attend ASDA’s National Leadership Conference last year. It was an amazing experience that I highly recommend for anyone who wishes to grow as both a leader and a professional. During my time at the Conference, I attended various sessions that were focused on ways to improve ASDA chapters, and I also learned from other ASDA chapters that were in attendance.
My time at the ASDA National Leadership Conference opened my eyes to the importance of involving dental students from all different classes in our local chapter, brainstorming ideas and organizing events. I hope we can spread the ASDA fever and work to make our local ASDA chapter more collaborative and innovative.
I am the girl running around the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) campus, a Canon T2i slung over my shoulder and tripod gripped at my hip. I am here first and foremost to learn dentistry, but every once in a while, I also have the distinct privilege of taking portraits for my classmates, meeting up with my medical, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy counterparts, listening to strangers’ stories and otherwise waltzing around campus as the “Humans of UCSF” columnist. What started off as a simple passion for photography and desire to get involved with the school newspaper developed into a greater vision for maintaining a platform through which our student, faculty and staff voices could be heard.
The ADA recommends replacing toothbrushes every 3-4 months or sooner due to fraying with use. The recommended amount of toothpaste per brushing is a pea-sized amount, or 0.25 g in more exact terms. Based on these numbers, an average 6 oz (170 g) toothpaste tube would be empty after 680 uses or 340 days if the person brushes twice a day. For a family of four, that would mean an empty toothpaste tube every 85 days.
What do you do with the old toothbrush and empty toothpaste tube? Instead of sending them to landfills, bring them to the dental school or dental hygiene clinic to recycle! That’s exactly what students and patients did at Roseman University College of Dental Medicine as a part of a pilot recycling program by Colgate.
