Marquette University School of Dentistry commemorated International Day of Persons with Disabilities by hosting its second annual public education event on Friday, Dec. 6.
Hosted by Marquette’s Special Care Dentistry Association, the goal of the event is to raise community awareness and foster understanding and acceptance of individuals with disabilities. It also encourages stakeholders to understand the difficulties experienced by persons with disabilities, with a focus on oral health care.
“This year, we wanted to focus on more collaboration with parents and caregivers of those with impairments instead of only focusing on people with impairments,” says Marquette SCDA president and third-year student Abby Veroeven. “We tried to engage more people with interactive activities to see their recall on oral health information rather than just teaching at them.”
Activities included “Jeopardy!” style trivia, a toothbrushing demonstration for caregivers, interactions with a therapy dog and a table called “living with disabilities,” which simulated tasks such as drawing and opening toothpaste for those with visual and physical impairments. There was also an opportunity to use a wheelchair ramp to give a sense of mobility difficulties.
“One thing we want to cover with this kind of event is home care and better oral health care advocacy,” says Dr. Altaf Shah, associate professor in the new Delta Dental Urgent and Special Care Clinic. “We also aim to break the barriers of access so that people with disabilities feel accepted. Eventually, it gives a realization that simple things need to be done at home or dental clinics to take care of oral health issues of persons with disabilities.”
Shah says the success of this year’s event aligns with the upward trend of “positive exposure” — promoting public inclusivity for people with disabilities by participating in events and a willingness from caregivers to allow photos and videos. This year’s event more than tripled in attendance from last year.
Shah, who helped organize the event alongside Dr. David Mapes, chair of the Department of Community Dental Sciences, emphasized the need for such an event to raise awareness of the difficulties experienced by this group not only among the general public, but also within the dental specialties such as pediatrics and orthodontics.
“People don’t really gauge how much of a need there is for events like this,” Veroeven says. “With new technologies coming out and being added to the dental school, it’s been interesting to add those to clinic and seeing how that really opens up the opportunities for more people to see a dentist.”
Friday’s event included a showcase of the school’s new wheelchair lift and bariatric chair, which are in a closed operatory within the Delta Dental Urgent and Special Care Clinic. The clinic held its grand opening Dec. 3, coinciding with the global celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The renovated clinic also features a private sensory adaptive dental environment and two special care dental chairs.
Dr. David Mapes, chair of the Department of Community Dental Sciences, emphasized the need for such an event to raise awareness of difficulties experienced by this group, not only among the general public but, in particular, with the other dental specialties. Mapes says Marquette’s School of Dentistry is at par with other national dental schools in terms of the transfer of knowledge about the oral health care of persons with disabilities. In fact, SCDA students’ chapter has been nationally recognized as an organization working for the better oral health outcomes of persons with special needs.
“A big goal of our SCDA within the school is trying to show people that any student here is capable of treating patients that have special health care needs and it’s not something that’s huge and scary,” says SCDA secretary and third-year student Grace Schmaling. “With a few extra tools, we have the capability of doing dentistry with this population. The hope is that students then can see they got the training here that they need to serve all populations.”
