On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Dental Hygiene Department, with the help of faculty members Lisa Lavery, Jeffery McMinn, Kelly Smith and Jena Iversen, sponsored a dental health and healthy living program for the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. Dental Hygiene worked in collaboration with several Hudson Valley Community College programs — Teacher Preparation, Nursing, Respiratory Care and Paramedics — to provide activities for the girl scouts.
Dental hygiene students demonstrated proper oral hygiene using brushing and flossing activities with over-sized toothbrushes, model teeth and Zoo Animal teaching aids. The students also showed the girl scouts various technologies within the dental unit to help in the prevention and promotion of oral health, as well as introduced the girl scouts to the role of a dental hygienist.
Teacher Preparation Department Chair Antoinette Howard, Instructor Christine Saxe and many Teacher Preparation students participated in the day by providing a read along of dental and health themed books, as well as engaged the girl scouts in educational games focusing on healthy bodies and healthy living.
Nursing students were able to demonstrate the importance of proper hand washing by utilizing “germ glo” to show girl scouts germs that are present on their hands and how to properly wash their hands to prevent the spread of disease. These talented students also provided a nutritional activity that helped the girls distinguish between healthy and unhealthy snacks, as well as assist Paramedics with the basic first aid program.
Respiratory Care students provided a demonstration using a pig lung to show the harmful effects of cigarettes and smoking, and healthy versus unhealthy lungs.
For the first time, the girls scouts were able to earn their first aid badge with instruction and assistance from Paramedic Program Instructors Brent Ricks and Maria Walker, alogn with Amanda Leffingwell and Desiree Vitek American Medical Response EMTs from Cooperstown.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. This month-long national health observance brings together thousands of dedicated dental professionals, health care providers and educators to promote the benefits of good oral health to children, their caregivers, teachers and many others. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children to get a good start on a lifetime of oral health.
Published: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 13:05:18 +0000 by t.conway