On Friday, February 17th, a delegation from the Forsyth Institute traveled to Portland, Maine, to participate in a Children’s Oral Health event at the University of New England (UNE) Dental School. Give Kids a Smile is the American Dental Association’s national initiative to reach underserved children with dental education and care. The purpose of the Give Kids a Smile event at UNE was to teach children about the value of good oral health, and how to take care of their teeth to improve their overall health. This annual event attracts hundreds of families, practitioners, and academics from throughout the state.
During Give Kids a Smile, Members of our Faculty and ForsythKids team were responsible for working with children and families at the oral health education exhibit. Dr. Helen Nguyen, the Clinical Director of the ForsythKids Program, led these efforts with the help of UNE dental students, teaching kids proper flossing and brushing techniques using the stuffed animal characters the team brought. Later in the day, Dr. Mary Tavares joined Dr. Nguyen to give a lecture to dental students and faculty on public oral health and Forsyth’s innovative work in this area.
Forsyth has an ongoing partnership with UNE to promote education, research, and improve public health in New England. This partnership is one of several we have established in recent years to improve collaboration, share knowledge, and encourage innovation in the oral health field. During the event, Forsyth’s Director of Education, Dr. Megan Pugach, met with senior leadership at UNE to discuss ways to improve collaboration between our two institutions.
Through this partnership, Forsyth faculty regularly travel to UNE to lecture and collaborate on public health research. In return, UNE faculty and students travel to Forsyth to attend special events, such as Forsyth dentech or our summer program, and to discuss research opportunities with our faculty. Forsyth gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bingham Trust in making this work possible
