See a smile, share a smile

They say a smile is contagious and in the case of Sharing Smiles Day there was lots of smiling going on!

"Today is so important for us to improve our hygiene" said Barbara, attendee of Sharing Smiles Day.

Yeshua, who is four, said, "I brushed all the blue gems off the paper with a real toothbrush!"

Robby liked the hockey station-- so much so that his care giver, Jackie, had to divert his attention to something else as he was playing so hard that his face was turning red!

The best thing about Sharing Smiles Day was the smiles on all of the people who attended the event. Over 60 dentistry and dental hygiene students volunteered their time to help 100+ people take part in 37 stations of fun and educational activities.

Sinclair Dental brought in a dental chair so attendees could take turns sitting in it without feeling scared. The very purpose of the event is for the students to have positive interactions with persons with developmental disabilities so that barriers like fear from the dentist can be removed and positive relationships fostered.

In its second year, the Sharing Smiles Day event is part of Oral Health, Total Health (OHTH) - a Federal Non-Profit Organization led by students and faculty from dentistry faculties across Canada with a mission to advocate, educate and improve the oral health care for persons with developmental disabilities. Alberta's chapter was set up last year thanks to Navi Bharj and Bryan Lim, DDS 2019 Class.

This year four more students joined the organizing committee while Bharj and Lim provided tips and help from their experience last year. These were Grace Bellerose, Marie-Catherine French and from Dental Hygiene -- Megan Rolfe and Lisa Tran.

"Sharing Smiles Day is important for so many more reasons than for simply giving instructions and options for dental care," said the organizing committee. "It's about meeting people, building trust, breaking barriers, and making dentistry more accessible and enjoyable for everyone involved."

"The students continually impress me with how much they do in the community while continuing to maintain their program studies," says Paul Major, chair of the School of Dentistry. "Their desire to raise awareness of the importance of oral health is what will help them become a successful healthcare practitioner."

A special thank you to the sponsors of this event.