We have finished three days at the Primaria School in San Pancho. I have been looking forward to this experience and it lived up to all of my expectations. It was amazing and a something that I will never forget. We were told by Ada, and even our interpreter, Indira that the cavity rate has decreased since the first year Camosun College Dental Hygiene Students visited San Pancho. I believe this is due to the increased knowledge of oral health and yearly fluoride applications and this is where Camosun College has truly contributed to making a difference in the oral and overall health of this community. I am proud to a part of this success story.
Since this is the fifth year of presenting information on nutrition, bacteria and caries process, we took a different approach and decided to ask them what they could recall from the previous years’ presentation instead. I was surprised by the enthusiastic responses we received and the knowledge that they have retained and shared. I will bring this back home with me in that while treating children, the sharing and learning about oral health information should be more interactive and fun. The children are all so genuinely grateful and I get so overwhelmed with emotions when they give me hugs of thanks. Their appreciation has taught me to respect and enjoy the smaller things in life that we may take for granted living in Canada. I am looking forward to visiting three more schools next week, the kindergarten, the co-op school, and the high school!
It’s great to see these positive changes in the oral health of these children. I am proud of all the work you ladies are doing in this community.
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