Wichita State University held a dental camp June 13-15 for Kansas high school students to encourage careers in dentistry.
Faculty dentists who oversee dental residents in the school's Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program offered two and a half days of free, hands-on experience to 20 high school students, according to the university.
The school received almost twice the expected applications and filled all available slots.
Many of the students' hometowns are in underserved medical areas, including dentistry, and part of the AEGD program is to recruit and retain dentists to practice in such areas.
Dental faculty member Mike Snowbarger, DDS, led students in visuals and lectures, followed by students applying what they had just learned. The students took x-rays of each other's mouths and made impressions and alginate-pour models. They also made triad custom trays for bleaching and practiced suturing techniques. In the simulation lab, they drilled and filled real teeth.
While a majority of the students hope to become dentists, three are interested in dental hygiene degrees, according to the university.
