Anna-Maria Sturki is a Year 4 student on the BDS Dentistry course at Manchester. Here, Anna-Maria talks about the Dentists in Primary Schools (DiPS) society and what it’s like to be part of a student society.
What is DiPS?
Dentists in Primary Schools (DiPs) is a project set up by the Manchester Paediatric Dentistry Student Society (MPDSS).
The aim of DiPS is to introduce fun and interactive oral health education to primary school children, especially covering high deprivation area schools in Manchester, where oral health education and advice may already be difficult to access.
To volunteer, you must do safeguarding training, and provide and have your DBS check verified by the student union.
We also had to attend a training session led by the project leads. This was to ensure we knew how to manage any sensitive situations which we may be faced with, especially since we would be working with very young children.
I first volunteered in my third year and decided to apply again this year, as I really enjoyed the sessions. It was fun to interact with the children and see the change in their interest and knowledge in terms of oral hygiene and food choices.
About the primary school sessions
At the sessions, there are usually five stations, each different yet interactive: oral hygiene, visiting the dentist, tooth modelling, sugar and either using disclosing tablets, or storytelling.
The oral hygiene station was where a fellow volunteer and I used a large tooth model to demonstrate teeth cleaning first by flossing, followed by brushing. We then allowed the children to show us themselves and guided them with the brushing motions and flossing on their models.
The sugar station was where we had food fruit and vegetable toys, and would ask the children to plate up their foods of choice. We would then discuss their choices to help guide them towards the foods necessary for a balanced healthy diet. We also used sugar cubes to demonstrate sugar content in drinks like cola. The really enjoyed the interaction and comparing choices with their classmates.
Why are the sessions important?
Reflecting on my first session made it clear how useful and rewarding the sessions are, as we play a role in helping to overcome different dental barriers.
One of these barriers is fear. Fear of the unknown for children who don’t go to the dentist much, or refuse to go due to the fear of not feeling in control, is something we can help to overcome – especially for those who haven’t visited the dentist, so don’t know what to expect.
This is why the visiting the dentist station is so important. The use of dolls in clinical clothes, plus a toy dental chair and mirror, can be useful to play out how the visit would be for the child.
For instance, you can play the dental visit game and have the child be the patient while you talk them through the dental check-up process. You can demonstrate counting teeth with the mirror and having fluoride varnish applied using our banana-flavoured ‘paintbrush’ prop on the doll.
The sessions also help you practice and understand how you must communicate differently with young children, especially ensuring to avoid the use of dental jargon. Using language for kids is vital, as the child needs to understand what you’re explaining to be able to learn from you.
Some examples of the word choices we are encouraged to use are ‘sugar bugs’ for bacteria, ‘fruity paint’ for fluoride varnish and ‘hoover’ for the suction.
What I get out of DiPS
Volunteering with DiPS adds a different experience to life at dental school. It is fun to interact with the children, have the sweetest conversations and see their excitement when we arrive at the school.
As an individual who attended primary school in a high deprivation area, it was nice to be able to do for others what I may have missed out on, so they do not also miss out.
This is why I value the project and the work that is done, because it can be really beneficial to start education from a young age, allowing individuals to carry those learnt habits into adulthood.
Text version of the above image:
A graphic explaining different dentistry terms in language that children can understand. These terms and the equivalent child-friendly phrases are:
- Bacteria: Sugar bugs
- Decay/cavity: Sugar bug hole
- Plaque: Sugar bug poo
- Dental exam: Counting teeth
- Scaler: Tooth tickler
- Drill: Tooth tickler or Mr Bumpy
- Extraction: Wiggle the tooth
- Crown: Hat/helmet for the tooth
- Alginate: Play-Doh for teeth
- Radiograph: Photo of tooth
- Fluoride varnish: Fruity paint/pixie dust
- Fixed appliance: Train tracks
- Removable appliance: Retainer
- Burs: Tickly brushes
- Dental dam: Raincoat for tooth
- Cotton rolls: Pillow for tooth
- Injection: Put tooth to sleep
- Inhalation sedation: Happy air
- General anaesthesia: Magic milk
Read about another student’s experience of volunteering with DiPS, or learn more about studying dentistry at Manchester.
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