For the sixth year in a row, West Baltimore middle school students got hands-on experience in the oral health professions at Planet Smilez Discovering Dentistry Camp held at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD).
Planet Smilez campers pose with camp founder Kathryn Pawlak, DDS.
Held in July, the weeklong educational experience is a joint project involving UMSOD and Planet Smilez Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to oral education founded by Kathryn Pawlak, DDS ’19.
It also falls under the umbrella of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) CURE Scholars Program, a groundbreaking year-round program that seeks to prepare middle school and high school students in West Baltimore for competitive and rewarding research, health care, and STEM-related career opportunities.
Looking around a UMSOD simulation lab filled with 30 middle schoolers wearing white coats, camp founder Pawlak envisioned a room full of budding dental students. “I’d love to see some of these students get into the field of dentistry, get into the field of dental hygiene,” she said. “Or even as the scholars go on to college, I’d love to see them come back and be students here.”
“This is our future,” said Andrea Morgan, DDS, MS, director of student advocacy
and cultural affairs and a clinical assistant professor who has been involved in UMB CURE since its inception. “When you see the excitement on these young people’s faces, you can’t help but be excited.”
Rising eighth-grader Messiah Parker feels the excitement, too. “I’ve been having the best time of my life,” said Parker, who wants to be a paleontologist but is now adding dentistry to his list of potential careers.
Participating CURE Scholars spent the week learning about oral hygiene, careers within the field of dentistry, head and neck anatomy, and oral cancer from volunteer UMSOD faculty members and students.
Donita Dyalram, DDS, MD, FACS, clinical associate professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, gave an in-depth presentation about oral cancer complete with clinical photos of the various stages of oral cancer. “It was interesting, but it did gross me out a little,” CURE Scholar Jamel Smith said with a laugh.
On the fourth day of camp, scholars donned their white coats and headed to a simulation lab at UMSOD for several hours of hands-on learning — a highlight for many students. The simulation labs, which are designed to realistically prepare users to perform dental patient care procedures, gave campers an exciting interactive experience.
Under the watchful eye of UMSOD dental and dental hygiene students, scholars learned how to manage dental trauma, practiced suturing techniques, and applied “sealant” to simulated patients.
Alaina Zborai, a Class of 2023 dental hygiene student, supervised the sealant station in the simulation lab. She gave careful explanations about how sealants protect the teeth while showing students how to perform the procedure on a dental mould before letting them give it a try. Even though students were using white nail polish and dental models, Zborai said they enjoyed the activity.
“It’s great for them to visualize and do it on their own and see how a sealant is placed. So, if they do end up getting a sealant, they’ll know how it is placed and how it works,” Zborai said.
She noted that Planet Smilez offers a peek into the world of dentistry that she wishes she had as a middle school student. “I didn’t really know anything about the field of dentistry until I got older,” she said. “It’s nice to introduce kids to the field of dentistry and health care in general and get them interested in it.”
Imani Armour, a second-year dental student who was volunteering at Planet Smilez, agreed, adding that dental education makes for less-fearful patients “I think it’s really cool that they were able to see the behind the scenes of what we actually do when we’re going in your mouth,” she said. “When we go in with a bur and you hear that rumbling sound — you know we’re actually repairing your tooth.”
Katharina Furrs, CURE interim director, said the experience scholars get at Planet Smilez is invaluable. “It’s all about exposure,” Furrs said. “Being part of this campus community and seeing themselves in these roles and what happens behind the scenes shows them that they are able — and they have what it takes.”
On the last day of camp, UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell MD, FACS, congratulated campers on a job well done and encouraged them to keep expanding their horizons.
“Continue to learn, to explore, to go after your dreams,” Jarrell said. “Students, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and all of UMB for that matter, remain committed to your success.”