{"id":2539,"date":"2018-02-19T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2539"},"modified":"2018-02-16T16:56:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-16T16:56:14","slug":"preschoolers-get-visit-from-tstc-tooth-fairies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2539","title":{"rendered":"Preschoolers get visit from TSTC \u2018tooth fairies\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – For two decades the Dental Assistant program at Texas State Technical College has organized a community service event at a local Head Start program or preschool to teach children about good oral health care and nutrition.<\/p>\n

This semester the 27 students from the program\u2019s Dental Prevention class gathered at the Wesley United Methodist Church Preschool dressed as tooth fairies and a tooth mascot to host child-friendly activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur program is about community service. We work with the community every day,\u201d said Dental Assistant lead instructor Jean Lashbrook.<\/p>\n

Lashbrook added that the goal of this event is to familiarize children with dental care so they\u2019re not afraid of going to the dentist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to encourage these children to practice good oral care, while giving our students the opportunity to practice patient education and interaction,\u201d she said.\"TSTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Students like Amanda Garcia, who is in the last semester of the program and vice president of the Dental Explorers Club, taught the preschoolers about brushing, flossing, \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cbad\u201d foods, and how to make healthy snacks to try to prevent cavities. There were also coloring stations and games for the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great experience being able to teach these children about brushing and flossing,\u201d said Garcia. \u201cThis event helped me better understand the importance of communication and how different it has to be, depending on the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every child went home with goodie bags filled with floss, toothbrushes, toothpaste and everyone\u2019s favorite, stickers.<\/p>\n

Dental Explorers Club President Clarisa Chapa agreed that it was great getting to apply what she learned in class to a real-world scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntroducing oral health and healthy foods at this age is beneficial toward their future,\u201d said Chapa. \u201cI enjoyed it so much that after graduating I\u2019m thinking about specializing in pediatric dentistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dental Assistant instructor and 2005 program alumna Kristen Deleon said this project is a requirement for anyone pursuing a certificate in Dental Assistant, but it is also what everyone looks forward to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is everyone\u2019s favorite project. It\u2019s not only a great community service event, but also a positive TSTC memory,\u201d said Deleon. \u201cThis is the thing alumni reminisce about the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

After completing the nine-month program, students will earn a certificate and have the skills they need to work as a dental assistant or dental laboratory technician. Many find employment almost immediately at area dental clinics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience this project gives our students is invaluable,\u201d added Deleon. \u201cIt prepares them to enter the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dental Assistant is also offered at TSTC\u2019s Waco campus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – For two decades the Dental Assistant program at Texas State Technical College has organized a community service event at a local Head Start program or preschool to teach children about good oral health care and nutrition. This semester the 27 students from the program\u2019s Dental Prevention class gathered at the Wesley United Methodist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2541,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539\/revisions\/2541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}