On November 15th, 2023, a group of university academic staff and students from the Faculty of Dentistry at Tishk International University (TIU) visited Ishik Gulan Kindergarten and Primary School at Erbil, KRG as part of the School Dental Care Project. The project was supervised by the Dean of Students Committee in the Faculty of Dentistry.
Academic staff from the Pedodontics and Diagnosis Departments joined the project, including Dr. Bushra Rashid, Dr. Layla Muhammad and Dr. Shara Rashid. Dr. Haneen Mutha, Research Assistant in Faculty of Dentistry in Pedodontics Department also participated together with Dr. Sara Sherzad, a member of dean of student committee, as supervisor 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. After the checkups the staff and students from Tishk International University visited each class individually and instructed the children to brush their teeth through a video song and subsequent oral instructions through demonstration.
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. 325 students in Ishik Gulan School were checked by the dental students and academic staff in addition to filling case sheets with diagnosis and a treatment plan for each of the students to be treated in the TIU Dentistry Polyclinic. The primary school students are provided with a duration of six months from the day of their examination to visit Faculty of Dentistry dental clinics at TIU for receiving the required dental treatments.
The primary students received gift bags and the younger received toothbrushes and toothpastes. This visit was sponsored by Tishk International University and SPLAT Company. Information sheets were given to their parents to work together hand in hand in maintaining the children’s’ oral health.
The school manager and vice manager assisted the team throughout the whole process and expressed their pleasure and gratitude for arranging such an activity to help kids keep their teeth healthy. At the end of the examinations, the Faculty of Dentistry staff and students were invited to lunch and group photos were taken.
This project was first discussed on September 26th 2023 through a first meeting. Followed by a second meeting with the Primary School manager on October 15th 2023. On November 7th 2023, the final arrangements were decided and equipment and materials required were all prepared. On November 15th 2023 the visit was conducted to Ishik Gulan School. This is a continuous project that will be ongoing till the end of the academic year where students from Gulan school will be visiting clinics in the Faculty of Dentistry for the required treatment.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the esteemed faculty staff and students whose dedication contributed to the successful completion of this significant visit. We look forward to their continued participation in forthcoming initiatives. Additionally, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to SPLAT Company for their invaluable support and generous sponsorship of this endeavour.
