2nd Annual Free Family Health and Wellness Day

Today I took part in the 2nd Annual Free Family Health and Wellness Day held at San Marcos Elementary School in Chandler, AZ. Here is the info that was put up on the A. T. Still University Events Web page

A.T. Still University Free Family Health & Wellness Day

This annual event is held every February and hosted by the ATSU-Arizona Student Government Association in collaboration with the San Marcos Family Resource Center/Elementary School in Chandler, AZ.

The event is designed so that all students and faculty from each ATSU program can contribute towards providing healthcare for thousands of our under-served community members. Our list of provided services includes physical examinations, audiology screenings, fluoride varnish applications, mouth guard fabrication, health-related instruction, and many more.

Mission: 
To establish a community partnership where ATSU students, healthcare professionals, ATSU faculty and under-served community members learn from one another by providing health-related services.

Date: 
Saturday February 21st, 2009, 8:00am – 2:00pm

Location: 
Chandler Unified School District
San Marcos Family Resource Center (Elementary School)
451 W Frye Road (corner of W Frye Rd and S Arizona Ave)
Chandler, AZ 85225 
 
View Larger Map

San Marcos Contact:
Susan Horan, 602-818-8792 (cell)
horan.susan@chandler.k12.az.us

ATSU Contact:
Brock Lorenz
President, Student Government Association 
A.T. Still University Mesa Campus
619-804-8339 (cell)
blorenz@atsu.edu

Media Contact:

ATSU Communications & Marketing Office
480-219-6000

Services Provided:

• Audiology screenings (AUD)
• Balance assessment for geriatrics (PT)
• Sensory screening (PT)
• Ergonomics (PT)
• How to wear a backpack correctly (PT)
• Mouth guards for sports (Dental)
• Fluoride varnish application for teeth (Dental)
• Blood pressure and pulse readings (Various)
• Nutrition, exercise, healthy living information (Any)
• Eye exam/vision testing (Various)
• Physicals (PAs)
• Hip to weight ratio and obesity information (PTs, DOs)
• Sealants for teeth
• Children’s Balance and Play Activities (PT)

The following are some pictures I shot with my 2 megapix Camera phone. Not the best quality, but here they are none the less.

Service with a Smile! (Steven Prince and I)

This is Cassidy. She was my first Fluoride Varnish Patient. She was very cooperative and opened really wide for me. Leah walked me through how to do it. Basically you dry the patient's mouth with a 2x2 gauze and then open the varnish/brush packet, mix the varnish a little and apply to all the occlusal surfaces (focusing on the pits and fissures) and also lightly coat the buccal and lingual surfaces as well. The patient is then instructed to not brush or eat any crunchy foods for the rest of the day and that the teeth will be discolored until they are brushed the next day.

This is Ashley. She was my first impression patient. She was also very cooperative. Jess helped coach me through it as well as this other guy, I think his name was Dave.

This is Tom, a D3 who along with Dr. El Gendy ran the mouthguard operation. I helped out for the majority of the time at this station. First the trays were "painted" with adhesive. Then the alginate was mixed up and placed in the tray. Then the impression was taken in the patients mouth and held for about 3 minutes. After removing the tray from the patients mouth, a cast was then made by pouring stone over at the vibrator machine(to reduce air bubbles). The cast was then layed out on the table to set. Once set the cast was carved back a little with a buffalo knife in order to remove the cast from the impression material.  Once free the cast was put on the mouth guard machine which heated the plastic and then dropped it over the cast using force as well as vacuum power.  The mouth guard was then cut around the gingival line of the teeth with a heated buffalo knife. The knives were heated with alcohol burners. 

A few tips that we all picked up were:

-Don't get your stone mix to runny...it will make for a weaker cast and will be prone to fracture

-Make sure that you don't let the patient wiggle too much...it throws off the impression (obviously)

-Heat the buffalo knife in the blue part of the flame and it will heat up more, the yellow part merely turns the knife black but doesn't heat it well

Don't leave a mouthguard machine unattended: The plastic will melt down over everything eventually and make a huge mess.

Another thing that I got to do was use my Spanish to direct those who didn't speak English. It was good practice. Actually the large majority of patients who attended the wellness fair were of Spanish-speaking background.

Overall it was a great experience. It not only was a great chance to serve in the community but gave the dental and medical students a chance to sharpen our skills and work with real people. Truly a successful day!