Shayan: On January 31st, 2024, a group of staff and fourth-stage students from the Faculty of Dentistry at Tishk International University (TIU)visited Ishik Ronaky International School in Erbil, KRG, as part of the School Dental Care Project. The Dean of Students’ Representatives at the Faculty of Dentistry supervised the project. The staff of the Pedodontics Department carried out dental checkups and education, Dr. Muhammad Salim and Dr. Shara Rasheed, along with the Diagnosis Department staff, Dr. Zainab Zaito, accompanied by fourth-stage students.
The project aimed to conduct dental checkups for school students and provide dental home care instructions. After the checkups, the Tishk International University (TIU) team visited each class individually and delivered dental education, giving specific and detailed instructions for brushing their teeth.
School dental screening aims to identify oral health concerns at an early stage, hence prompting preventive and therapeutic oral health care for children. The project also provides a way for children to have regular access to preventative dental health and a link to additional treatment services. The dental staff and students checked stages 1, 2, and 3, comprising 226 students. In addition, case sheets with diagnoses and treatment plans for each student were filled out. Information sheets were given to their parents through their teachers to work together hand in hand in maintaining the children’s oral health.
At the end of the dental checkups, a competition was held for the 9th-grade students to test their dental knowledge. SPLAT company and TIU sponsored this event, where gifts were distributed to seven competition winners. The school manager expressed pleasure and gratitude for arranging activities to help kids keep their teeth healthy. At the end of the examinations, the Faculty of Dentistry staff and students received appreciation certificates from the school’s directory.
This project was first discussed one month before the commencement day on December 31st, 2023 when the school management contacted TIU and requested dental checkups for their students. The first meeting of the Dean of Students Committee was held on January 8th, 2024, to arrange all the needs of the project. A second meeting on January 23rd followed this, and on January 29th, the school management was informed that TIU staff and students would be visiting on January 31st, 2024, and all arrangements were decided.
