On February 27th 2024, a group of university academic staff and students from the Faculty of Dentistry at Tishk International University (TIU) visited Zhyan Kindergarten and Primary school in Gawrgosk, Khabat district in Erbil, as part of the School Dental Care Project. The project was supervised by the Dean of Students committee in faculty of dentistry.
Academic staff from the different departments in Faculty of Dentistry joined the project including Dr. Shara Rasheed, Dr. Bzhar Muhammad, Dr. Shad Hoshyar, Dr. Iman Hayder as well as Mrs. Zhala Tahseen and Dr. Sara Sherzad, members of dean of student committee, as supervisors of the project. Nine students of 4th stage in faculty of dentistry volunteered and did a great job, and their valuable effort meant the success of this project.
The project aimed to conduct dental checkups for the school students and give them dental home care instructions. For the purpose of the checkups the staff and students from TIU visited each class individually afterwards instructed the children to brush their teeth through a live demonstration and subsequent oral instructions.
School dental screening aims to identify oral health concerns at an early stage, hence prompting preventive and therapeutic oral health care for the children. The project also provides a way for children to have regular access to preventative dental health and a link to additional treatment services. 350 students in Zhyan School were checked by the dental students and academic staff including Kindergarten and primary students in addition to filling case sheets with diagnosis and a treatment plan for each of the students to be treated. The primary students received gift bags including a notebook and a pencil sponsored by TIU.
The school manager and teachers helped throughout the whole process and expressed their pleasure and gratitude for arranging such an activity to help kids keep their teeth healthy. Certificates were also prepared and distributed to the dental staff and students by the school manager who expressed her deep gratitude. At the end of the project, the Faculty of Dentistry staff and students were invited by Dean of Student’s Office in Faculty of Dentistry to lunch as an appreciation for their efforts.
This project was first discussed on February 13th 2024 through a first meeting. Followed by a second meeting with the Primary School manager on February 20th 2024 and the last arrangements were decided and equipment and materials required were all prepared on February 26th. On February 27th 2024 the visit was done to Zhyan Kindergarten and Primary School.
We thank all faculty staff and students for their participation in this project and hope it inspires other young volunteers to contribute to similar community service initiatives.
