Roseman Dental Students’ Fall 2022 Community Service Event: The Gail Miller Resource Center

by Roseman Dental | Nov 7, 2022 | Clinic Events - UT, Dental 360, Dental Clinic Blog, Providers - UT, Roseman Dental - UT

In September 2022, a group of six D3 students (Joshua Finch, Emily Lear, Ben Raymond, Maggie Boyle, Jude Goodwin, and Joshua Halm) together with the help of the ASDA chapter of Roseman were able to make a considerable donation of dental supplies to a local homeless shelter, the Gail Miller Resource Center.

Utah’s homeless population has risen in recent years, particularly since the pandemic began and the cost of housing increased so drastically. Dozens of individuals who are experiencing homelessness and currently residing in this shelter received free dental hygiene kits from Roseman, which will last them through the end of the year. The Gail Miller Resource Center is a remarkable shelter in the South Salt Lake area which houses over 250 men and women, and provides them with three hot meals a day. The Center relies on donations from the community, predominantly the Catholic Community Services of Utah, for food donations. The Center also requires at least five community volunteers to serve each meal to those who reside there.

This D3 group from Roseman was able to make the hygiene kit donation, and volunteer several hours preparing and serving a hot meal to the residents of the Center. Overall it was an amazing experience for all who participated, and a great reminder that so often the most meaningful service opportunities can be performed in our very own communities.

Junior League of Salt Lake City CARE Fair

by Roseman Dental | Nov 4, 2022 | Clinic Events - UT, Dental 360, Dental Clinic Blog, Providers - UT, Roseman Dental - UT

The Junior League Community Assistance and Resource Event (CARE) Fair is an event organized and directed by the Junior League of Salt Lake City for families needing routine medical, dental, and vision services. This year’s CARE fair was held on Friday, July 29th, and Saturday, July 30th at the Horizonte Instruction and Learning Center in Salt Lake City.

On Saturday, July 30th, twenty-five dental students from the College of Dental Medicine (D2’s and D3’s) volunteered at the CARE fair from 8 am to 5 pm. Students provided dental exams, prophy, and fluoride for about 200 adults and children from lower socioeconomic groups. For each patient, students also determined if additional treatment may be needed. For those that needed additional treatment, Junior League provided vouchers in the amount of $150 or $500 at participating dental programs at the University of Utah, Fortis College, Utah Partners for Health, and Roseman University. For Saturday, Junior League provided vouchers totaling values over $17,000.

Overall, a total of 376 patients were seen in the dental clinic at the CARE fair this year, up from 296 in 2019, the last time the event was held.

Students

• Junior League Project Group: Ashley Zhang, Nicole Hablitzel, Riley Savage, Fay Kotlyarenko, Tess Floyd, Shiva Naicker
• Additional Student Volunteers: David Gallardo, Scott Caine, Daniel Brohard, Chloe Federe, Ben Raymond, Lavinya Yap, Basima Abdelsalam, Tejasvi Singh, Kavina Patel, Lynn Kabbani, Diana Zhen, William Kay, Maddy Tucker, Jeffrey Toschi, Jody Chiang, Nisha Mody, Brooklyn Hansen, Sue Hill, Bao Thao

Attending Faculty

• Dr. Quayle

Give New Utahns A Smile 2022

by Roseman Dental | Sep 7, 2022 | Clinic Events - UT, Dental 360, Dental Clinic Blog, Providers - UT, Roseman Dental - UT

In conjunction with Catholic Community Services of Utah, College of Dental Medicine (CODM) at Roseman University of Health Sciences provided free dental care for 150 refugees living in Utah on August 19, 2022. In recent months, Utah has had an influx of refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Venezuela, Honduras, Syria, Uganda, China and Congo.   

According to an article in the National Library of Medicine, during periods of displacement, relocation, and adaptation, refugees are often forced to prioritize other immediate needs – such as food, shelter, and safety – before addressing oral health concerns. However, oral health is often a significant health issue. Refugee populations have consistently been shown to have worse oral health even when compared to traditionally disadvantaged and underserved populations in their host country. Factors contributing to this health care disparity include lack of oral health care infrastructure in source countries, challenging migration trajectories, difficulty accessing care upon arrival to host countries, and individual health beliefs and practices.   

“As a result of a lack of oral health care, refugees suffer pain, stress, and negative self-perception,” said Dr. Ryan Moffat, Assistant Professor for the CODM at Roseman. “When refugees are placed in cultures which highly value the cosmetic appearance of teeth, poor dentition can carry a strong social stigma, decreasing chances of employability and creating social challenges for children in school. Frequently missing work because of emergency dental treatment needs could result in employment termination and educational opportunities can be affected.” 

Give New Utahns a Smile is an effort to address the immediate needs of these refugees.  Fortunately, at CODM, many students come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and spoke the language of many of the refugees. Students addressed the immediate dental needs the clients had and provided comprehensive oral examinations, dental cleanings, and dental restorations free of charge.  

Among those who received dental care that day was Fareed Poya Masouda, a refugee from Afghanistan, and his wife. Masouda worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Kabul prior to its withdrawal from the country. 

“It’s an incredible help,” Masouda said of the dental clinic. “The way I see it, is they are taking care of every part of us, whether it is medical concerns, dental – it’s incredible.” 

The Masouda’s have three children ages 7, 5 and 3; the family has been in Utah for three months. 

“I really appreciate all the people who helped us, who saved our lives,” Masouda said. “Now we are really happy, with our kids going to school. My wife is happy and there is no stress anymore and no depression anymore. We’re really excited and happy to be here without fear of being threatened, of being killed or tortured.” 

Follow-up services will be provided for free to those refugees who participated in the clinic last month. 

“We would love to continue this kind of relationship with this community of refugees,” Moffat said. “They are wonderful individuals, and they have a need. We feel like they have a lot to contribute to our community here in Utah. If we can provide them with an opportunity to have a nice-looking smile and good oral health, we feel like that will help these refugees be able to continue to contribute.” 

CODM recognizes there are many other refugees in Utah, in addition to the 150 seen last month, who have significant oral health needs.  As such, CODM hopes to assist Utah refugees through future similar events.