In solidarity with the American Dental Association’s annual National Children’s Dental Health Month, Center for Dentistry and Orthodontics (CDO) clinicians, along with residents and staff from two Loma Linda University School of Dentistry advanced education programs, promoted the importance of oral health in the School’s immediate community.
CDO pediatric dentists Bonnie Nelson, SD’88, chair, Pediatric Dentistry, and Samah Omar, ID’07, assistant professor, Pediatric Dentistry, accompanied by students from the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry, made nine educational visits during the month to early grade and pre-school classrooms at three venues: Mariposa Elementary, Loma Linda Academy, and Loma Linda University Children’s Center.
Meanwhile, the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics was represented at the nearby town of Redlands’ weekly “Market Night”—a popular farmer’s market that since 1988 has occupied the town’s blocked-off historic State Street from 6 pm. to 9 pm. each Thursday night (except holidays) that weather permits. At Market Night, over 150 food, produce, and merchandise booths entertainingly bracket crowds of families, skaters, young people, pensioners, and everything in between.
Several residents from the Graduate Orthodontic Clinic, under the guidance of Joe Caruso, SD’73, MPH, MS’75, associate dean, Strategic Initiatives and Faculty Practices, and Roland Neufeld, SD’74, MS’76, assistant professor, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, accompanied by Clinic staff, worked three consecutive Thursday evenings (a fourth was rained out) from a Market Night booth handing out “We Can Help” fliers and educational brochures as they discussed with attendees any questions they had about oral health and related services.
The Center for Dentistry and Orthodontics faculty practice manager, Tina Malmberg, and Graduate Orthodontic Clinic manager, Dawn Fowles, assisted by clinic staff, spent many hours putting together giveaway materials for these events. The School’s marketing director, Krista Juhl, MBA, and administrative assistant, Ben Palaniuk, scheduled appointments with the elementary schools for the Pediatric Dentistry residency program and arranged licensing and logistics for Graduate Ortho’s Market Night presence.