PA Fall Special Olympics- Healthy Athletes: Special Smiles (Villanova University)
I alongside fellow Temple Dental and Penn Dental students and faculty volunteered at the Fall Pennsylvania Special Olympics \”Healthy Athletes: Special Smiles\” on November 2, 2024 at Villanova University. At this event, the dental students gave athletes the opportunity to receive dental screenings and have the option of getting fluoride varnish as well as a custom mouthguard. We were supervised by Dr. Jason Bresler who is very passionate about this organization. His compassion emanates throughout. My duty as a D2 was to help give oral hygiene education, help facilitate athletes to get screened in an organized manner, and assist inputting exam information into the system. It was a great opportunity being exposed to a wide realm of patients who may not have any dental care. These patients were very appreciative of the work provided and enjoyed every second. Working with those who have intellectual and development disabilities was very beneficial to my career in the future. This is always such an eye opening and heart warming experience that I look forward to participating in. Now being a D2, we are learning about more dental related courses, so it is interesting seeing what we learn being put into action.