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Some of the many volunteers who made up the Special Smiles team

Playing host to the National Special Olympics (SO) in Antigonish, July 31-August 4, 2018, was a first for Nova Scotia. It was also a 鈥渢ransformative鈥� and 鈥渓ife-changing鈥� new experience for a volunteer team from pilipili漫画鈥檚 Faculty of Dentistry who were there as part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program.

Paediatric dentistry professor and Healthy Smiles clinical director Dr. Tracy Doyle recruited over 40 dentistry and dental hygiene faculty, staff, alumni, and students to spend some of the hottest days of the summer in a room at the Schwartz School of Business at St. Francis Xavier University.

Their job was to carry out oral health screenings, make mouthguards for the athletes who needed them, provide fluoride treatments, offer oral health care education, and send every athlete away with a goody bag of oral health supplies. Other Healthy Athletes teams from Dalhousie provided vision, audiology, and podiatry checks.

鈥淚ndividuals with intellectual and physical challenges have a lot of unmet health needs,鈥� says Dr. Doyle.

鈥淭hat was why Eunice Shriver Kennedy started what became the Special Olympics in the 1960s. She believed that if people with intellectual difficulties were given the same opportunities as everyone else, they could accomplish more. Being able to compete and play sports is one opportunity and receiving treatment for their health needs is another. I was lucky to receive training for the Special Olympics from Dr. Steve Perlman, the paediatric dentist who founded the Special Smiles screening program. He has been a great advocated for children鈥檚 healthcare in the US.鈥�

DDS students perform an oral health screening on an athlete

Seeing the impact of dental care across the country
Over the course of the four days of the games, more than 1000 athletes with autism, Down syndrome, and other intellectual disabilities passed through the Healthy Smiles room. They arrived in ones and twos, usually with their coaches. And then whole teams descended, galvanizing every available volunteer into action. In one afternoon alone, over 300 athletes were seen.

For the volunteers, it was an opportunity to witness at first hand the impact of dental health care coverage across the country.

Dental hygiene professor Teanne MacCallum says, 鈥淓very province has different coverage and we know that hygiene is expensive. We saw an athlete from New Brunswick who came in with an abscess and a decayed tooth and he said he didn鈥檛 have the money to have it looked after. We were able to reach out to one of our alumni in New Brunswick and ask him to help.鈥�

The volunteer team found that the athletes were generally well looked after in terms of cavities and decay, but the level of hygiene was concerning.

鈥淲hat we are seeing are some dietary concerns,鈥� says dental hygiene professor Shauna Hachey, 鈥減articularly the consumption of pop, juice, and sports drinks.鈥�

The difficulty of access to care was a common refrain. 鈥淪ome parents don鈥檛 acknowledge that there is a problem with their children鈥檚 teeth,鈥� says assistant dean of academics Dr. Debora Matthews. 鈥淭he coaches told us stories of some athletes who have never seen a dentist.鈥�

In fact, the coaches were often instrumental in getting care for the athletes. 鈥淲e saw two brothers who play basketball in Halifax,鈥� says DDS4 student Lindsay James. 鈥淚t was their coach who noticed how bad their teeth were.鈥�

For some, it was fear that kept them away. DDS4 student Mitch Hanna says that 鈥渟ome athletes had seen a dentist earlier in their lives and had a bad experience. It鈥檚 great that they鈥檝e been able to come back and have a fun experience.鈥�

DDS4 student Myriam Ferron says that patience paid off with some of the athletes who were reluctant to have their teeth checked. 鈥淲e could often find someone in the room they clicked with better. We had one athlete who didn鈥檛 want to open his mouth for anyone, but he would for Matt Brown.鈥� 聽

Fostering students who want to give back
Some of the volunteers had had prior experience of working with special needs patients through initiatives like Dalhousie BEAM (Because Everyone鈥檚 Ability Matters) and Sharing Smiles Day. As a result, students like Myriam Ferron know already that they want to 鈥渂e one of those dentists with the confidence and experience to help these patients. I want to give back.鈥�

For others, however, it was a completely new experience. DDS4 student Mahdis Maleki says, 鈥淚t was the first time I had contact with people with special needs. I didn鈥檛 know what to expect. It was definitely a good experience, very fulfilling, and one of the best volunteer community service experiences I鈥檝e had. I will try to do this every year. I鈥檓 very grateful to Dr. Doyle.鈥�

Retired faculty member Dr. Greg Jones had experience of large-scale screening programs in the Arctic with Inuit health services. He feels that the multidisciplinary approach is valuable for everyone involved and that the students in particular benefit from looking after patients they would not normally see in the Faculty clinic.

Dr. Heather Carr (DDS鈥�88) is an alumna and the NSDA representative on the CDA board. She is also chair of the National Coordinating Group on Access to Care. She says that 鈥渧olunteering at the Special Olympics Special Smiles clinic was one of the most rewarding days of my career. I have so much respect for the SO volunteers and athletes and I was incredibly impressed with Dr. Tracy Doyle and her entire team. The experience was valuable to me. CDA is currently gathering information for a possible project on access to care for persons with special health care needs.鈥�

The Nova Scotia winter Special Olympics will take place in Aldershot in February 2019 and there are many volunteers from this summer鈥檚 games who are inspired and keen to do it all again.

鈥淚t was an amazing opportunity,鈥� says Shauna Hachey. 鈥淲e all feel appreciated and the experience has brought us great joy.鈥�

Working with the athletes was a rewarding experience for everyone involved