Reflection on Service Learning

During my English IV Service learning project I experienced and learned a lot of how some people view Oral Hygiene. For my Service Learning Project I picked the topic lack of the importance of Oral Hygiene. I picked this topic because I see people on day to day basis ignore there Oral Hygiene, so I decided to volunteer at a local Dentist Office. While volunteering at Grand Strand Pediatric Dentistry I learned the problems that Dr. Winona Newman sees everyday. Some of the major ones are that some people have a lack of knowledge of the purpose of primary teeth and the necessity of a proper diet and nutrition. Some of the solutions that I thought could be beneficial to this topic are to educate people of the importance to maintain proper Oral Hygiene.

I felt that the difference that I made was that I began to understand why some people lack proper Dental care. I witnessed that for some people dental check ups are a financial burden. Some people still do not understand the need for proper dental care and oral hygiene.

My position on this issue is that it is overlooked by most people because it is not life threatening. My major point is your teeth can simply help you or hurt you in life, and also having high-quality hygiene can help your overall appeal as a person. For example if you were to ever have a interview for a job, I would feel having high-quality oral hygiene would help your chances at receiving a job.

I feel that my experience can relate to the nation because somewhere in America there is someone who lacks proper oral hygiene. There will always be someone who is not given the proper opportunity to have high-quality hygiene. I feel I can improve my project by continuing to volunteer at Grand Strand Pediatric Dentistry. I would also like to interact more with the children there and experience what they go through every time they go for a check up. I would also like to watch more of the kids as they go through surgery and what they experience after it is done.
For my future project i would like to go to other Dentists office that do not just specialize in children. I would like to see what adults go through when they go to check ups. Some adults, since they were kids have never has proper dental hygiene. The questions I still have are why do adults not see the need for themselves or there offspring's to have proper oral hygiene. I would like to receive feedback for my project by people from all over the world responding on my blog.

Work Cited page

Dr. Denise Diana, . "Poor Oral Hygiene." General Care. N.p., 2007. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.kiferdentalspecialist.com/general-care-poor-oral-hygiene.php>. 

Derek Berry, . "Make every expierence count." . Word Press, n.d. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://derekberry.wordpress.com/tag/dentist/>

N/A, . "The Tooth-Brushing Technique." The proper tooth- brushing techniques. N.p., 2010. Web. 4 May 2012. <http://bleachforteethwhitening.com/the-proper-tooth-brushing-technique/>.  

Carmona, Richard. "Carmona." The Office of the General Surgeon. U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, Nati, 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2012.

<http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/oralhealth/nationalcalltoaction.html>.

Colgate-Palmolive Company, . "What is Good Oral Hygiene?." Oral and dental health

resource center. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Mar 2012.

http://www.colgate.com/app/CP/US/EN/OC/Information/Articles/Oral-and-Dental-Health-

Basics/Oral-Hygiene/Oral-Hygiene-Basics/article/What-is-Good-Oral-Hygiene.cvsp

Nova University, . "Improving awarness of personal hygiene." EBSCOhost. N.p., 1996. Web. 30 Mar 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=17&sid=be0011f2-9b00-49bb-8410-593eaa65c1ea@sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ

 

My Animoto Video

My Animoto Video

Solutions

During my time of researching this issue and my time at volunteering at Grand Strand Pediatric I thought of the ways to help people improve the oral hygiene. I felt the only major way to deal with this issue was to go the base of the problem and that is to educate people of the importance to have proper dental hygiene. I have witnessed some people have that almost have no regard for having proper dental care. I strongly feel that if some people were to be educated on the fact that having poor dental hygiene can be an indicator that other problems with your overall health can become prevalent. From interviewing Doctor Newman I found out that most kids who have poor oral hygiene is because there parents have not properly instructed how to maintain good health.

My interview with Dr. Newman

While volunteering at Grand Strand Pediatric Dentistry , I had got a chance to interview Dr. Winona Newman. During my consultation with her, she instructed me some of the main issues her practice see on a day to day basis. Also, told me the two simple that can help your oral hygiene. First step was to always floss your teeth after a meal. The second was to brush your teeth three times a day. If these steps are not preformed on a daily basis, then your dental can hinder. The interview with Dr. Newman was very beneficial to my project because her practice is one the only dentist’s office that specializes in pediatric care. This helped me comprehend that you must be instructed proper dental hygiene when you are young in order to have a direct effect when you get older.

I felt the only way to better understand this issue, was to receive hands on experience. So I volunteered at Grand Street Pediatric Dentistry in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Here I experienced what it is like to work at dentist office, what I found most interesting was the neglect of some parents on their kids when it comes to their oral hygiene. I learned by talking to Dr. Winona Newman that some of the biggest issues that dentist face are the proper knowledge and education of necessity of diet, finance for dental care, and the lack of education of the purpose of primary teeth. I want to continue to visit Grand Strand Pediatric Dentistry and see how the problems change and see what new problems form.