The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) is partnering with the Las Vegas community to help improve the overall health and lives of the city's homeless youth, as well as strengthen their oral hygiene awareness and instill positive oral health habits.
The ADHA will provide oral health education to homeless teenagers in Las Vegas on June 18 in conjunction with the 2014 ADHA Center for Lifelong Learning and 91st Annual Session taking place at Caesars Palace.
The Center for Lifelong Learning kicks off on Wednesday with Community Service Day. "Dental hygienists are proud to give back to our communities as volunteer oral health professionals," said ADHA President Denise Bowers, RDH, PhD. "Community Service Day affords us the tremendous opportunity to do just that. Together, we can make a difference."
Sponsorship for the event comes from the Wrigley Company Foundation with support from dental manufacturers such as 3M ESPE, ACT, Colgate, Crest Oral-B, Hu-Friedy, Johnson & Johnson, and Premier. The companies have made donations so that the youths receive home-care products to reinforce what they learn at the event.
The hygienists will bus to the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center, a residential facility for teenagers who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. There, the hygienists will provide basic information about taking care of teeth and oral tissue to the teenagers. Participants will also learn about the oral health implications of eating disorders, sports drinks, oral piercing, recreational drug use, pregnancy, diabetes, and other topics. After learning about careers in the oral healthcare field, the teens will receive goodie bags filled with products that will help them apply their new knowledge.
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