SANDY HOOK, Ky. — The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry sent first-year dental students to Elliott County to provide oral health services to elementary-aged children on Monday and Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  •  Students with the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry went to Elliott County on Monday and Tuesday to get hands-on experience while helping underserved communities

  •  The dental students provided oral health care services to elementary-aged children who may have barriers to accessing those services

  •  The students worked together in groups to ensure that children were comfortable and ensure all tasks were completed

  • The goal is to not only provide necessary oral health care to children, but to also ensure the kids have a positive experience so that they are not afraid of dentists

This gave dental students their first patient experience. The children they worked with may not have access to oral health care without this service.

The students said they were happy to have this opportunity at such an early stage in their schooling and to help underserved communities.

“It’s really cool to be out here, like, the fact that we can drive two hours and be able to treat children that maybe otherwise wouldn’t be able to see a dentist or haven’t seen a dentist in, you know, years… It’s super satisfying,” said Phoenix Parker, a first-year dental student at UK.

Groups of students collaborated as they worked with each child.

Prioritizing the children’s comfort was top-of-mind as they engaged in conversations with the kids to ease any worries they might have been experiencing.

“What’s so important is being able to mobile-y come out to them and bring students and provide wonderful care for the children and give them a great experience to like dentistry and not be afraid of it,” said Ron Singer, a division chief of public health dentistry for UK’s dental college.

The number of dentists per 100,000 people in Appalachian Kentucky is on average 42% lower compared to non-Appalachian areas, according to UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation. That’s why the college of dentistry targeted those areas for its mobile dental clinics.

Related Stories