Peden Hill Elementary students were given big smiles with the help of students in the Dental Assistant program at the College of New Caledonia today. (Wednesday)
The schools took part in the Seal in a Smile program, which brings local elementary school students to the College to teach the kids about oral health.
The program is a partnership between Northern Health, the College, School District 57, and the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation.
“This is such a great program that Spirit of the North loves to be a part of,” said Spirit of the North Health Care Foundation CEO Aimee Cassie.
“We always look to bridge gaps for individuals in the communities in Northern BC, and this is one way we can do that. For a lot of kids, this is their first dentist visit, and I think for us to be a part of that and be able to make sure that it’s a fun experience is great, and it just puts kids on a path to better dental health.”
Cassie said the program is continuing to gain traction with more schools in the area learning about the program.
“Northern Health works really closely to select the schools that go each year,” she said.
“Our hope is down the line that we can increase to a number of schools partaking in the program every year, as it continues to gain traction, it’s something that we’re looking forward to.”
The program also gives the College’s Dental Assistant students a chance to practice on live patients.
“The kids are the first step in the prevention process, so I hope that everything we teach them about brushing their teeth and flossing, they can go home and share with any siblings that they have or friends in their class that maybe didn’t have the opportunity to come here today,” said Dental Assisting Student Rachel Paley.
Paley said one thing she learned today is it’s harder to work on kids than adults.
“They’re a lot more fidgety, a lot more saliva, they have way smaller teeth, their grooves in their teeth are a lot deeper so they have a higher chance for cavities,” she said.
“Besides adults, lots of people have restorations, like amalgam fillings and stuff like that, so kids are fresh new teeth that we get to work on.”
Paley added today’s event gave them the opportunity to learn how to work independently.
“Having an extra hand isn’t always something that we can do in our career, so figuring out a way to do it by ourselves is something that I’ve been struggling with, but I get to practice today and it’s been coming along quite nicely.”
Approximately 160 students took part in the program this year.
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