'Dental Days at UAA' give students a chance to give back

A fascination with teeth has been a key part of Ellen Holt's life since she was a young child first settling into the dentist's chair. Her longtime dental hygienist inspired her.

"I always knew I wanted to be in some sort of dental career," said Holt, a second-year dental hygiene student at the UAA School of Allied Health. "I really care about my teeth. It's great for me to reflect that on other people."

Next week, Holt will take part in Alaska Cares: Dental Days at UAA, a community-outreach effort that offers free teeth cleanings, fillings and extractions for Alaskans without dental insurance who couldn't otherwise afford the cost of dental care.

Twenty-seven dental hygiene and 14 dental assisting students will help 60 volunteer dentists, registered dental hygienists, faculty and administrative staff care for 40 children and 150 adults registered for the two-day event, scheduled for March 24-25 at the UAA Dental Clinic.

"We see a lot of people who just don't have dental care at all," said Carrie Burton, administrative assistant for the UAA dental hygiene program. "And not just from Anchorage-some patients will be coming from Soldotna, Homer and Talkeetna."

Last year, a record number of 196 patients received treatment and services valued at more than $114,500.

'It's more of a personal interaction'

Royann Royer, a dental hygienist with Southcentral Foundation and longtime educator, helped UAA faculty and staff launch Dental Days six years ago. At least 17 dentists from Southcentral Foundation, as well as hygienists and dental assistants, participate in the event.

"All the students in the UAA dental assisting and dental hygiene [programs] complete some of their requirements there," Royer said. "But mostly it's an event to bring the community together, give them experience in doing something that's a worthwhile cause. We feel it's important that they be involved in the treatment, not just education. It's important for students to really be a part of it, not just on the outskirts."

While slots for this year's Dental Days are now filled, Burton says people who need dental care may take part in the upcoming Mission of Mercy-a large-scale dental clinic where people who can't afford dental care or don't have a regular dentist may receive volunteer-provided services at no cost.

Mission of Mercy is scheduled April 29-30 at the Denaina Center in Anchorage. No appointments are necessary; prospective patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

While it's fortunate that the national-scale Mission of Mercy offers large-scale help in Anchorage, Royer says the smaller Dental Days event provides great value.

"It's more of a personal interaction because it's a smaller event," she said. "The patients can come back to the university for follow-up."

Royer says there are other benefits.

"It's really wonderful to have the university willing to support this event for students and the citizens of Anchorage," she said. "The students will carry this experience long term into their profession, relate back to this humanitarian event and be  willing to volunteer in the future," she said. "It's great for the population of Anchorage to see the university willing to be involved in the community and provide assistance to those in need. And, it gets all the dental professionals in the area involved in meeting each other."

Henry Schein Dental donates materials, Royer said. Other sponsors include First National Bank Alaska, Colgate, 3M, United Way of Anchorage, Alaska Dental Outreach Consortium, Hayes Handpiece Repair, Alaska Dental Hygienists' Association, Alaska Dental Association, Alaska Dental Society, Moose's Tooth and Peppercini's Deli & Catering.

"It's a very minimal cost to put this on," Royer said. "All the food, the time, energy from practitioners is donated. All the instructors volunteer extra time to do this."

Fliers distributed to all public schools, Beans Café, Covenant House and other social-service entities, as well as information available through Alaska 2-1-1, publicize the event.

People who can't make it to either event may still access dental care-at a reduced cost-by making an appointment at the UAA dental hygiene and dental assisting clinics, which provide dental hygiene and limited dental care to staff, students and people from the community under the supervision of a dentist. The clinics are HIPAA-compliant and maintain the highest level of infection control procedures for patient safety.

To learn more about the clinics' hours, services and how to schedule appointments, click here.

'Alaska has such a need'

Tom Jonas isn't a Dental Days patient, but he is receiving low-cost help from UAA's dental hygiene students.

Jonas, while a UAA civil engineering student in 2009, received dental care at the UAA Dental Hygiene Clinic and Dental Assisting Clinic but left school after his wife became ill. He now lives in Houston and works as a chef at Evangelo's restaurant, in Wasilla.

"My employer doesn't offer any health insurance and, being over 50 health care isn't affordable," he said, while waiting for his wife to receive care from students at the UAA clinic.

About two years ago, Jonas' wife needed a small filling at the dentist and suggested he see how much a cleaning would cost.

"I got a quote from a dentist who wanted $700 per quadrant to deep clean my teeth," he said. "I remember getting sticker shock. That's more than I spent on my car. It's just not affordable."

A couple of weeks ago, "out of the blue," he said, someone from UAA's clinic called to ask if he would be willing to come in for help.

Jonas has received a prescreening exam and will come in on March 24, though not at Dental Days. He requires more screening because his case isn't typical-he has missing teeth and other dental issues necessitating a three-hour block of time.

"It will cost me $75 for each quadrant instead of $700," he said. "It takes longer but you get better care because you have several sets of eyes. I'll need four or five sessions-roots, pockets, everything. It's about as complete as you can get. It takes longer because of the instructional process, but the quality of care is really good. Alaska has such a need for this type of expertise."

Dental hygiene is a two-year program in which students may earn an associate degree or go on to earn a bachelor's degree.

"Most of our dental hygiene students are moving in that direction," Burton said of the bachelor's degree program.

It takes 10 months to get certification as a dental assistant; it's also possible to earn an AAS degree in that field.

Patients like Jonas are the reason second-year student Ellen Holt wants to become a dental hygienist.

"They're so appreciative," she said. "Giving this care to people who can't afford it validates why I'm in the profession."

Written by Tracy Kalytiak, UAA Office of University Advancement