Teresa and Warshika are students on the BDS Dentistry course at Manchester. Here, they talk about a first language-based service learning project to provide oral health education through role-playing exercises at a Tamil school in the city.
In January 2024, a team of dental students from The University of Manchester paid a visit to Manchester Tamil School, located in St Christopher’s Church, for the chance to educate the pupils, parents and teachers about the importance of oral health, and dentistry as a profession.
This team consisted of Rashmini Arnold (Year 5), Ayshvaan Thevarajah (Year 5), Dhanesh Chandrasekar (Year 5), and ourselves, Teresa Baskeran (Year 3), and Warshika Gopikrishna (Year 2).
Our visit started in the late afternoon, after the students had finished their lessons for the day as well as their Pongal celebrations – a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils worldwide.
Whilst we had some technical issues upon arrival, this wasn’t an issue for any of the children or adults there – the children were entertaining themselves by running around, dancing and playing, whilst the adults were happily socialising amongst themselves. We were greatly assisted by the staff, who were very kind in helping us set up as much as they could.
Running a role-playing exercise
We eventually started our role-playing activity, with the roles of:
- Dr Warshika – the helpful dentist;
- Teresa – the child who fears the dentist, brushes her teeth once a day and enjoys fizzy drinks and sweets;
- Rashmini – Teresa’s mum;
- Ayshvaan and Dhanesh – interacting with the audience and asking questions (who also made and printed the script for all to use).
During our role-play, we had PowerPoint slides up to show the clinical setting of a dental practice, a dental mirror, a suction tube, a slow handpiece, and a rubber dam. We were pleasantly surprised to see how much the young children already knew about each instrument – there were definitely a few young dentists in the audience!
We also quizzed them on whether Teresa’s brushing routine and diet were healthy, and they were clearly aware of the implications of these habits for her oral health. While the whole role-play was carried out in English, we quizzed them on the Tamil word for teeth, and the whole room shouted the answer! This method of role-play worked effectively, and helped to engage the children.
Answering questions about oral health
After the role-play, we opened a question and answer session for both the schoolchildren and their parents. We were faced with multiple questions from the kids – many about orthodontics, tooth eruption, and caries, and a few cheeky ones about the tooth fairy.
From the adults, we were met with quite a few questions about maximising the potential of their children’s oral health – including how to deal with thumb sucking and potential stem cell treatments that are currently being researched, and have the possibility of being implemented for future use.
We also answered a question about why we chose dentistry, which was a wonderful opportunity to inspire the children about why they should go into this profession if they’re keen, which a lot of them appeared to be!
As a group of Tamil dental students, we felt it was important to briefly discuss specific habits within the Tamil community that may have a negative effect on oral health, including chewing betel leaf.
Following this discussion, we recognised that smoking and its link with oral health could be our next topic to highlight to the community, so that we can encourage healthier habits among the Tamil community.
Impact of the project
Overall, we are certain that this visit had a positive impact by raising awareness about oral health among the children, parents, and teachers at Manchester Tamil School. All of us thoroughly enjoyed this valuable experience, as we not only spoke about the importance of dental care, but were also able to potentially inspire students towards a career in dentistry.
As a group, we have learned team working skills in a community environment, how to synthesise and process classroom-learned information into community application, and intercultural interactive competency and communication skills.
We now look forward to any future events and are keen to continue to educate and engage with more members of the community. We also wish to thank Manchester Tamil School for the warmth and generosity we received, and greatly appreciate this opportunity given to us.
Learn more about studying dentistry at Manchester.
Biology, Medicine and Health Student Blog 