Dental Hygiene Program helps kids get “Head Start” in oral health

(October 1, 2024) - The Clayton State University Dental Hygiene Program recently gave its community’s kids a “Head Start” on their oral health.

Clinic Manager Brandi Clisham helped students as they tended to hundreds of babies and toddlers in nearby Head Start programs, with more than 100 seen in just the first two hours of service.

Parents of the children signed permission slips for Dental Hygiene students to provide screenings.

Clisham said that CSU students screened children from ages six months to four years old.

“Our students haven’t had that exposure before,” Clisham said. “Sometimes you’ve got your happy kids, and others are more nervous and don’t understand. We give them a goody bag when they go – toothbrush, paste, floss, stickers.”

Clisham said the experience was just as valuable for her students, especially those who are considering working with children professionally after graduation.

“It’s interesting because you go over all the specialties with students – general dentistry and pediatrics, geriatrics, general periodontal – things like that,” Clisham said. “Some say, ‘I want to work with kids,’ and some don’t. It’s funny when we go there and it kind of gives that light – ‘is this really for me?’”

Asst. Prof. Heather Eddy was also on the scene with her students and was pleased with the efforts, hard work, and dedication of her students while working with children in the Head Start program.

She says it’s a privilege to continue building strong relations with both the children and parents involved in the organization.

“CSU dental hygiene students have been participating annually for a couple of years now with Head Start and we have also been invited to speak to the Head Start staff on the oral systemic link coming up in the next few weeks for their wellness event,” Eddy said. “We are excited to continue the community outreach efforts and partnership. It has been such a rewarding experience to participate in.”

Clisham also said that all of the program’s students did a “fabulous” job interacting with the local youth and said they were incredibly “professional” in their work.

And while she’s overseen plenty of community engagement events with the CSU Dental Health Program, Clisham said she never gets tired of seeing Lakers make a positive impact in the lives of local children and families.

“We’ve been in the community center clinics here for 50 years now,” Clisham said. “These students want to help the public. They want to serve and it’s amazing to see how much they enjoy doing it. It’s a great experience.”