Community Events

DDHS members mentor dental hygiene seniors

For nine years, members of the Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society have committed themselves to mentoring Texas A&M Health Science Center-Baylor College of Dentistry’s dental hygiene students. On Oct. 28, this year’s mentors and seniors in the college’s Caruth School of Dental Hygiene met for the first time when they gathered to exchange contact information during a pizza party.

Click Here for entire article!!!

Volunteers for the North Dallas Ministries

North Dallas Shared Ministries, a non-profit facility in North Dallas, is seeking dental hygienists to do gross debridements and dental hygiene education for people in need.  This opportunity is only two Fridays per month with flexible hours, 8-12 with 2 hour shifts.  Equipment, Cavitrons, and hand instruments will be provided for volunteers.  Please email Gina, ginalollabrigida@yahoo.com, or Judy, dallasjr3@gmail.com, with your contact information if you are interested or have any questions.  For more information on North Dallas Shared Ministries you can visit www.ndsm.org. 

Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society and School Nurses Team Up to Bring Prevention and a Fluoride Varnish Program to RISD Kids!

For the past seven years, Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society (DDHS) has presented its “Prevention Power Facts for Kids” caries prevention program in Richardson elementary schools. The program began modestly with only dental hygiene education in classrooms and grew to include oral health education and a fluoride varnish program for Pre-Kindergarten-6th grade.

The program grew at the request of Nyla Karim, R. N., school nurse for Mark Twain Elementary. She wanted to expand the program to include the delivery of “preventive care” for the Pre-K-6th grade students of her school. Ms. Karim’s concern was for the school children coming to her school clinic with oral health problems. Ms. Karim stated, “The children had little to no dental care”. Since the first fluoride varnish program in 2006, DDHS has continued to provide: two fluoride varnish treatment days per year, one dental screening day and classroom education for the school children of Mark Twain Elementary in Richardson ISD. Plans for the fluoride varnish program were achieved by collaboration with Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society, Communities in Schools and Baylor College of Dentistry.

Sustaining an on going preventive care program for the school children year after year is a big commitment and is challenging for the Dallas component. Supplying the manpower volunteers, donating the dental materials, the financial provision needed to purchase the fluoride varnish and scheduling the planning sessions with the school nurse requires many hours. The Dallas component made a commitment for our fluoride varnish program to become our on going community service project.

During the 2008 Summer BOD meetings, DDHS President, Amy Frederiksen and BOD members evaluated the growth rate of the program and the dollar value of the fluoride treatments for each participating child. Stats for each year are as follows:

1st year 2005-2006:     160 Children participating/ Total Dollar Value = $ 9600.00
2nd year 2006-2007:     226 Children participating/ Total Dollar Value = $ 13,560.00
3rd year 2007-2008:     250 Children participating/ Total Dollar Value = $ 15,000.00
4th year 2008-2009:     280 Children participating/ Total Dollar Value = $ 16,800.00

On October 24, 2008 and February 20, 2009, 280 Pre-K-6th grade children received a dental screening and fluoride varnish treatment for FREE at school. Baylor College of Dentistry dental students and the Dental School’s Dentist Supervisor, Dr. Nelson conducted the October 24th screening. Registered Dental Hygienists from the Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society delivered the fluoride varnish program to 280 school children.  DDHS volunteers were: Sharlene Ooten, Terri Patrick, Chrissy Samples, Dennis Garcia, Gretchen de Gruy, Lorraine Deslarzes, Alison Lee, Patty Litterer, Susan Washerlesky, Denise Frank, Inez Zermeno, Susan Chapple, Amy Giese, Jan Wares, Mary Jo Collins, Stephanie Norseworthy, Rebekah Neese, and Kiwi Nguyen.

Dental hygiene students from TWU and Baylor participated in “Prevention Power Facts for Kids” by teaching oral hygiene, caries prevention and nutritional education for the school children who did not sign up for the fluoride varnish and remained in their classrooms. All children Pre-K -6th grade went home with a free toothbrush. Dental hygiene student volunteers from TWU were: Stephanie Cates, John Nguyen, Angie Bailey, Jacey Kerby, Marlene Hernandez, Claudia Hernandez, Lucia Vo, Selina Villarreal, Kaley Hodgkinson, Deanna Otts and Minoo Seyedmovaghar. Dental hygiene student volunteers from Baylor were: Jessica May, Erum Khanani, Karen Delaney, Krystel Marich, Faye Haggard, Elizabeth Palmer, Jenna Polivka and Irma Risado.

The Dallas component is delighted to assist Ms. Karim, the school children and the community in this program to respond to children’s oral health problems. DDHS has continued to assist Ms. Karim with information on CHIPS and low cost dental clinics.
The school nurse follows up on each child to refer for needed dental care. Of the 280 school children screened in 2008-2009, 107 were referred for needed dental services.

Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society considers this a groundbreaking program in response to public school children’s oral health problems. In providing these children screening, fluoride varnish and preventive education biannually during each school year, DDHS has the greatest opportunity to impact the children’s oral health. DDHS volunteers participating in the fluoride varnish program have observed that more of the children are seeing a dentist, have sealants, restorations, stainless steel crowns and a few even have orthodontic braces. When DDHS began this program in 2005-06 hardly any of these children had ever visited a dental office.  Our program is changing the oral health for these children and we are seeing the rewards of investing in others.

Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who made preventive care possible for these children!

Paula Harris, RDH, BS
DDHS Liaison for School Education 

(Please contact Paula Harris by Email: paula@dentalhygienistusa.com to volunteer or contribute to the program.)

DDHS Volunteers R to L: 
Sharlene Ooten, Patty Litterer, Susan Chapple, Amy Giese,
Chrissy Samples, Nyla Karim, R. N., school nurse,
Mary Jo Collins, Paula Harris, Jan Wares, Kiwi Nguyen,
Gretchen de Gruy, Inez Zermeno and Rebekah Neese.

Mark Twain Elementary School
Fluoride Varnish Day 2008

DDHS Volunteers:  Lisa Mayo, Susan Chapple, Melissa Lester,
Laurie Morgan, Denise Frank, Patty Litterer, Inez Zermeno,
Sharlene Ooten, Jan Wares, Amy Giese, Paula Harris, Nyla Karim, R. N., school nurse

DDHS Student Mentorship with Baylor and TWU Students

For 7 years now DDHS has led a student mentorship with Baylor Dental Hygiene students.  This year the Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Society has adopted senior students at TWU as well.  This is a wonderful program that allows senior dental hygiene students to be partnered with a dental hygienist to gain key information on what to expect post graduation, job finding tips, etc.  Mentors are also there to support their student throughout their demanding senior year.  If you are interested in becoming a mentor or donating to this program, please email Kelly Muhney, RDH, MS at kmuhney@bcd.tamhsc.edu or call 214-828-8922.