ADA News

Augusta, Ga.—One generation already did their time: served in wars, raised their kids, completed their careers and is now enjoying the last years of their life in peace.

Brushing up on skills: Dental students, from left, Chris DeLeon, Ben Yavari and Sara Khan watch as resident Grady Rogers practices his brushing techniques.

The other is working hard to plow through dental school, all the while practicing the skills they'll need in the "real world" once they start working on the older generation.

Once a month, they meet.

There's the simple goal of helping the older folks clean their teeth and providing them basic oral care. But a much broader goal is achieved.

The residents at the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home get the opportunity for conversation and people to tell their stories to. Dental students at Medical College of Georgia get the opportunity to practice their skills on a population they’ll no doubt see a lot of.

One-on-one: Wendy Cardenas helps a resident at the Georgia War Veterans Nursing Home with his brushing.

The monthly visits are part of "Dentists for Della," a project named in honor of Dr. Victor Della-Guistina, a founding faculty member of Medical College of Georgia, retired community dentist and resident of Georgia War. It was created by several dental students as a service project, and Dr. Katharine Ciarrocca, who specializes in geriatrics, serves as the faculty advisor.

"I think it gives them an incredible experience because of the aging of our population," said Dr. Ciarrocca, who brings about 20 students to the home and monitors them while they conduct the examinations. "It's the fastest-growing segment of our population, those people over 65. This is going to be their practice."

Students focus on preventive care by making sure the residents' teeth and dentures are clean and provide oral, head and neck examinations, Dr. Ciarrocca said. Georgia War houses about 200 veterans, many who lack the mobility or dexterity to maintain healthy oral health habits on their own.

"We wanted to reach outside the box for this service project, and who better to serve than the elder war veterans who fought for our freedom," said dental student Chris DeLeon, who created the project with classmates Ryan Fulchi and Ross Levine.

Outreach: Brett Ryan helps a nursing home resident clean his denture.

Patterson Dental has donated supplies, and Dr. Ciarrocca has used grant money to buy electric toothbrushes, toothbrush heads and denture care products. The students have also been proactive in soliciting monetary donations, she said.

Some of the students have never stepped foot inside a nursing home so "Della for Dentists" has become an invaluable experience for them to be able to see what it’s like and how people live in that situation, Dr. Ciarrocca said.

"A lot of these people are more sick than what they would see in the dental school. These are patients that wouldn't be candidates to come here," Dr. Ciarrocca said. "It just broadens the type of patient contact that they will have, and the patients love it too. They love having the students around and someone to talk to and tell their stories to."