Dental outreach look back: Fall 2024
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry volunteers at The Hope Therapy Adaptive Sports Festival at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry students and faculty volunteered at several outreach events during the fall semester, participating in two October events and one in November. At all three, they provided oral health screenings, oral hygiene education, and nutritional counseling.
Volunteers took part in two events on Oct. 5, The Hope Therapy Adaptive Sports Festival at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, and the Nigerian Cultural Parade and Festival Health Fair in Root Memorial Park in Houston.
At both events, the dental team provided services such as head and neck exams, oral health exams, oral cancer screenings, and oral health education. Arrangements were made for individuals identified for follow-up dental treatment to connect with local community resources.
On Nov. 16, the students and faculty participated in the Collaborative Wellness Event at The Center for Pursuit in Houston.
Information on oral health, nutrition, and modified oral hygiene techniques using the Brush and Bite Kit was given to families and caregivers of adult individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, more commonly referred to as IDD. Participants also experienced a simulated dental office visit with all the associated instruments and sounds as a desensitizing process to facilitate future dental appointments.
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry volunteers at the Nigerian Cultural Parade and Festival Health Fair in Root Memorial Park in Houston.
School of Dentistry volunteers for The Hope Therapy Adaptive Sports Festival included dental students Dominick Fierro, Alejandra Guerra, Katelyn Kennedy, Michael Landavavo, Katie Le, Erin Lee, Madison Mosely, Brenda Navaro Munoz, Sergio Solis, and Yanzel Vanegas, dental hygiene students Aline Almazan, Victoria Boreman, Catalina Cavazos, Elizabeth Flores, Evelyn Garcia, Mia Jackson, Karyn Lu, Tran Nguyen, Amanda Pham, Li-Lian Starns, and Grace Talley, and faculty Raha Naderi RDH, MEd; Victoria Patrounova, RDH, MHA; Neshan Ney, DDS; and Megha Pathak, DDS, MS.
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry volunteers at the Collaborative Wellness Event at The Center for Pursuit in Houston.
Volunteers for the Nigerian Cultural Parade and Festival Health Fair were dental students Hakeem Bombatta, Hirwa “Dior” Cyitatire, Alhagie Jallow, Victoria Okanlawon, and Rachel Porter, dental hygiene students Alana Batiste, Tamaya Dixon, Nha “Alice” Pham, and Jazmin Samuel, and faculty Erin Potts, DDS; Adrienne Williams, DDS; Esther Kuyinu, DDS, MS.
Volunteers for the Collaborative Wellness Event were dental students Kennedy and Le, dental hygiene students Thomas Anglim, Nguyen, Starns, Talley, Tatum Vang, and Mariana Santosochoa, and faculty David Fray, DDS, MBA; Ahmad Naraghi, DDS; and Kuyinu.
Dental outreach participation for these events was coordinated by Kuyinu, faculty sponsor of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry Student Chapter, as well as the Student National Dental Association at the School of Dentistry, and MOSAIC.
