Community Involvement
Children’s Dentistry hosted 40 middle, high school and college students. The students are participants of the "Explorer Program" sponsored by the Metro Denver Dental Society (MDDS) to introduce young people to the various and diverse areas of dentistry. All of the students have expressed interest in a career in the dental field.
The Explorers meet six times to learn and "practice" dentistry. They visit two private dental offices; the other meetings are held at the MDDS headquarters.
At our office, our staff set up stations where groups could rotate to learn about infant oral health, nutrition, sealants, the use of lasers and how to place fillings. Sparkle the Tooth Fairy gave tours of our office to the students, teachers and parents.
The evening session ended with pizza and a huge cake decorated with a baby and the title "First Tooth/ First Visit", a reminder that effective lifelong prevention begins early.
We were told by MDDS that our office was the best session ever for the Explorers! We love helping young people who are interested in dentistry. We believe it is the best and the most fulfilling career!
Our Mentoring Program
We are very proud of our own mentoring program. We identify and hire promising young people who are interested in a career in dentistry. We train them as dental assistants and continue to develop them in the art and science of dentistry. Their tenure with us is either a summer job or a year or more. So far, we have 3 hygienists and one dentist practicing in our community who are former dental assistants. Brian Carr, who worked with us for one year after college to see how he might like dentistry, graduated from dental school and will become an oral surgeon. Mark Morris, is in his 3rd year of dental
school at the University of Colorado School of Dentistry. Last summer, a college student spent the summer with us and has decided to become a dentist as a result. This summer, we will be working with Craig Owens, a college student and former patient, who wants to join the dental profession. We also have had a high school student who is mentored with us for the semester and is interested in dentistry.
We have had many dental assistants do their externships with us and many more students shadow us.
We have participated in “take your child to work” day. We have also assisted several grade school children with science projects.
Local Dental Society
We are involved in organized dentistry on many levels: committees, meetings, Give Kids A Smile and mentoring programs. We were
recently presented an award from the Metro Denver Dental Society for
Outstanding Service to Children.
University of Colorado School of Dentistry (UCSD)
We have taught in the past at UCSD, participate in their mentoring program and have numerous contacts with the students through Dr. Don’s position as Chair of Surgical Dentistry.
University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UKCD)
Dr. Nelle and Dr. Betty travel to Kentucky once a month to teach in the Pediatric Dental Residency program at UKCD. Dr. Betty is chair of the John R. Mink Endowment, the first ever at UKCD. The Barr Visiting Professorship, now in its 10th year, has been established in honor of their 95-year-old father, Dr. Vincent Barr, who practiced dentistry in Frankfort, KY and was instrumental in establishing the dental school in Lexington.
Sean’s Hope Foundation
We are involved with The Sean McCauley Hope Foundation. Sean’s Hope is a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping families who have a child with cancer. We connect families with needed resources and services.
Some of the programs are:
Footsteps Care Packages- gift bags that are given to newly diagnosed families.
The Denny Dent Fund- a Spanish speaking family support program that helps with emergency assistance, translation, support, and mentoring.
The Hope Fund- an emergency assistance fund for families struggling to afford the costs of cancer treatment.
Phase One Fund- provides funding for families participating in Phase One clinical trials, which are often at the end of a child’s life, when traditional treatment options have been exhausted.
Family Advocate- provides funding to support a full time employee at Children’s Hospital of Denver who is dedicated to helping families.
Sibshops- a series of organized and supervised workshops for the siblings of cancer survivors.
Hope Rooms- family resource centers providing Internet access along with educational and inspirational materials.
When you come in our office, check out the quilt hanging in our reception area. We purchased it at the Sean’s Hope Live Auction in 2005. The quilt was made by Cassie Weider who worked with children on the oncology ward at The Children’s Hospital who provided the artwork. Each drawing represents how they viewed their cancer and its impact on their life. It is our tribute to helping families.
In 2006, we purchased blankets at the Live Auction for our referring doctors. The donation helps the Foundation and the blankets will spread the word. We also donated $5000.00 in the name of our referring doctors as a year end gift.
www.seanshope.org
Click here to
read our Mission Statement |
