Special Smiles Screens Hundreds of Massachusetts Athletes

On June 20, volunteers from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) as well as other dental and hygiene schools in the area came together at the Special Olympics Massachusetts games held at Harvard University. At the games, volunteers provided free dental screenings to the Olympians as part of the Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® initiative and distributed goodie bags with toothpaste, a toothbrush, a mouth guard, a healthy snack, and a referral list of dentists.

Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatric Dentistry Dr. Steve Perlman worked with GSDM and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver to start the program in 1993. Each year a growing team of volunteers from GSDM has signed up to work morning or afternoon shifts at the event. This year the volunteers screened 235 athletes and many of the students not only learned a great deal from working with the athletes but were also able to gain experience from working alongside volunteers such as Dean Jeffrey Hutter and Assistant Professor and Hospital Dentistry Program Director at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry Dr. Alan Wong—-who flew in from California just for the day to get involved and also teach the students about the Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) method.

“I am thankful to everyone who helped organize this year’s Special Smiles program, specifically Stacey McNamee, Dr. Paul Farsai, Andy Burke, and Director of the Office of Oral Health Lynn Bethel," said Dr. Perlman. "Their hard work and tireless efforts make for a spectacular event. It also inspires me to watch the students interacting with the athletes, having fun, and working with role model educators such as Dean Jeffrey Hutter.”

“The Special Smiles program is a great event because what we have done is not only get students involved from the three dental schools in Boston, but we also have students and faculty from several hygiene schools who attend the event," added Special Smiles Local Coordinator and GSDM Associate Professor Dr. Paul Farsai. "More importantly, the Special Smiles event each June gathers the largest number of our students to volunteer their time and services. We get over 120 student volunteers from GSDM each year."

Photos from the event are available on GSDM’s flickr account and also on the GSDM Facebook page. You must have full web access to view the flickr account, but do not need a personal Facebook account to view photos on the Facebook page. Additional photos from the event will be available at a later date.