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Dental hygiene students and DeKalb County Board of Health staff recently provided free oral health care and education to students from Hightower Elementary School in Doraville. The future hygienists attend Georgia State University’s Perimeter College.

On Seal Georgia Day, the team provided education, exams and preventive care to about 40 students in the first through third grades. Each child received a cleaning and a varnish treatment, which increases teeth’s resistance to decay by adding fluoride to the enamel. Children also received sealants as needed. A sealant is a thin, plastic coating painted on the chewing surfaces of back teeth to protect their enamel. Over 170 sealant treatments were applied.

CAPTION: Board of Health Dental Services Manager Dr. Dwayne Turner demonstrates how to conduct an oral examination to Georgia State University’s Perimeter College dental hygiene students. They are second-year student Selamawit Gebresilassie (left) and first-year students Marcy Heflin (second from left) and Claudia Ferreira (right).

“There is a significant need for pediatric oral health care in metro Atlanta,” said the Board of Health’s Dental Services Manager Dwayne Turner, D.D.S., M.B.A. “Over forty percent of the children we saw on Seal Georgia Day required treatment beyond the preventive services we were offering that day. This high percentage reflects the urgent need for dental care in our communities.”

The Board of Health coordinated the clinic at the college’s Dunwoody campus. Dr. Turner supervised the hygiene students and the Tooth Fairy stopped by for a visit.
For information about the DeKalb County Board of Health’s dental services, contact your local health center: T.O. Vinson Health Center at (404) 508-7890,  Clifton Springs Health Center at   (404) 244-4410, East DeKalb Health Center at (770) 484-2623, Kirkwood Health Center at (404) 370-4640 or North DeKalb Health Center at (678) 475-4341.

For information on all DeKalb County Board of Health services, visit dekalbhealth.net or call (404) 294-3700.