GSDM volunteers at the Countdown to Kindergarten event
On Monday, August 31, 2015, 27 members of the GSDM community volunteered at the Countdown to Kindergarten event at the Boston Children’s Museum. The GSDM volunteers engaged children in dental screening and a variety of oral health activities and lessons.
Countdown to Kindergarten is an annual information session and celebration designed for families with children who will soon be entering kindergarten in the Boston Public School system. The organization works to engage children, families, and educators in a citywide effort to both enhance early learning opportunities and ease the transition into kindergarten.
Countdown to Kindergarten lists five steps that parents should follow in order to ensure that their child is ready for kindergarten. The steps are: Visit & choose a school; register for the school; meet your school; get ready for school; and start school.
The August 31 event at the Boston Children’s Museum was just one of many Countdown to Kindergarten events taking place near the start of the school year. The event was attended by hundreds of families from around Boston and more than 1220 Boston families were invited to participate.
GSDM’s participation in the event was planned by the Boston University American Student Dental Association (BU ASDA) in collaboration with the Office of Global and Population Health (GPH). The event provided an opportunity for GSDM students to learn about oral health issues relevant to young children and to interact with parents and their children.
“Countdown to Kindergarten offers an amazing opportunity to promote oral health to hundreds of children getting ready to enter kindergarten,” said Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri. “Kindergarten is an important milestone for children and their families and offers a good opportunity to talk one on one about age related concerns, such as healthy snacks, keeping teeth clean, fluoride, sealants, and visiting the dentist.”
The GSDM volunteers offered age appropriate, hands on, interactive activities as well as oral health information and dental screenings. The volunteers were at the Countdown to Kindergarten event from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. teaching the children and their parents about the importance of good oral health.
When the event was over, the GSDM volunteers had screened 90 children and interacted with hundreds more about oral health.
“I am very proud of the GSDM students and faculty who took time out of their busy schedules to teach young children and their families valuable lessons about oral health at the Countdown to Kindergarten event,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter.
Student volunteers:
Assal Abdossalehi DMD 16; Amanda Alon DMD 18; Mcallister Castelaz DMD 17; Diala Chahine DMD 18; Debbie Desravines DMD 17; Jing Guo DMD 17; Sally Jacob DMD 17; Sloane Kaminski-Ditzel DMD 18; Anna Keohane AS 16; Courtney Knapik DMD 16; Valerie LaScala DMD 18; Sasha Manchanda DMD 18; Caroline Michaels DMD 18; Neha Mithia DMD 17; Alex Nguyen DMD 17; Linda Nguyen DMD 17; Jayesh Patel DMD 18; Luis Perez DMD 18; Olga Spivak AS 16; Nobiru Suzuki DMD 18; Jamie Waller DMD 18; Garrett Wingrove DMD 17
Faculty volunteers:
Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Gladys Carrasco; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research Mohammad Mourad; and Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Martin Ugarte-Chavez
Other volunteers:
Wellington Tejeda (Pre-Dental)
Photos from the Countdown to Kindergarten event can be found on Facebook and Flickr.