Harvard Athletic Complex was a busy place on Saturday, June 8, 2019. Music drifted through the air, punctuated with the sounds of laughter. Athletes—some proudly displaying medals, most dressed in jerseys and t-shirts from their town or region—streamed down the walkways with their coaches, family, and friends not far behind.
In the middle of it all, sandwiched between the Murr Center and the Bright-Landry Hockey Center, a small white tent full of volunteers and athletes bustled with activity.
Athletes sat on chairs as volunteers examined their mouth and teeth; in the opposite corner of the tent, volunteers applied fluoride. Toward the back, athletes honed their tooth-brushing skills on stuffed animals. Steam drifted into the air from boiling pots of water, used to soften mouthguards.
In total, 173 athletes received oral healthcare services from 94 volunteers as part of the Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® program during the 2019 Special Olympics Summer Games.
Volunteers from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provided oral screenings, health education, prevention services, and referrals to athletes who needed follow-up care. Athletes also received individually-fitted mouth guards and goodie bags with oral hygiene-related products.
Students, faculty, staff, and guests from all four schools were joined by Steven Perlman PEDO 76, adjunct clinical professor of Pediatric Dentistry and global clinical director and founder of the Special Smiles program, Charita Boseman, manager, Special Olympics Special Smiles, and Karen Raposa, a registered dental hygienist, public speaker, and co-author of “Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder” (along with Perlman).
“As always, I am very proud of the care that members of the GSDM community provide each year as part of Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles®” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “The volunteers at Special Smiles reflect GSDM’s commitment to service and to aiding underserved populations.”
Stacey McNamee, director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving, organized the event, coordinating with Special Olympics Massachusetts and Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® to ensure the success of the program, putting together goodie bags in the week leading up to the event, setting up at Harvard, providing support to volunteers, and more.
“I thought it was a great day,” said McNamee. “The weather was perfect, we were set up at a central location, and we had a great team.” McNamee mentioned that Dr. Joseph Calabrese, clinical associate professor of General Dentistry, director of Geriatric Dental Medicine and associate dean of students, Andrew Burke, director of Facilities & Operations, Alumni Officer Katie O’Shea, and former GSDM professor Dr. Andrea Dickhaut were vital to the event’s success.
This year’s summer games took place Friday, June 7, 2019, to Sunday, June 9, 2019, on the Harvard and Boston university campuses and marked the end of the spring season for Special Olympics Massachusetts. More than 10,580 athletes and partners competed in gymnastics, power lifting, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball matches, and games races and competitions.
Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® dates back to 1993, when Perlman worked with Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and other members of the GSDM community to start the program, which aims to increase access to dental care for Special Olympics athletes and people with intellectual disabilities.