VIDEO: Fairview, dental hygiene students team up for healthy teeth

Fairview Foundation teams with School of Dentistry dental hygiene students to protect teeth

The Fairview Foundation teamed with dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry to apply fluoride varnish on the teeth of 350 children and provide oral health education to families throughout the fall semester.

Following a pilot session last May, dental hygiene students volunteered their time on Sunday afternoons throughout the fall semester to help families and children at the Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis. Megan Arnold, a clinical assistant professor in the dental school’s Division of Dental Hygiene, supervised the students. Dental hygiene students applied fluoride varnish, a dental treatment that helps prevent or slow tooth decay, to about 350 children at no cost to the families.

The partnership is part of the Fairview Foundation’s Minnesota Immunization Networking Initiative, which provides free influenza and pneumococcal immunizations at faith communities and community organizations throughout the greater Twin Cities area.