Focus on: eastern washington
Dr. Doug Jackson (above) created summer dental camps for students of color throughout the state of Washington.
UW’s Doug Jackson Blazes a Trail for Minority Youth in the World of Dentistry
Breaking the Mold Story By Jeannette Tarcha | Photos courtesy Washington dental service foundation
In recent years, it wasn’t uncommon for UW Dentistry Professor Douglass Jackson to rise early on a Saturday morning, pack his vehicle with dozens of boxes, and make the long trek from Seattle to Spokane or Yakima for a road trip with the potential to change lives. The boxes did not contain food, medicine or life-saving first aid supplies. Rather, they were filled with dental supplies for the UW’s highly acclaimed dental camp—a program that provides adolescents from communities that have traditionally been underserved by dentistry with an opportunity to learn first hand about what it’s like to be a dentist. “It’s my professional and social responsibility to give back,” says Jackson, UW associate dean for educational partnerships & diversity. “There is
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a part inside of me that says I have to give back because someone did that for me.” It’s that compassion, drive and determination— along with the financial support of the Washington Dental Service Foundation—which allowed Jackson to blaze a trail for minority and disadvantaged adolescents with the creation of dental camp five years ago. Dental camps expose students to careers in the dental profession, encourage them to prepare for a future in health services and provide them with role models. Many of the dental camp volunteer mentors are minorities or have backgrounds that are similar to the students. “The coolest thing for me is to see these mentors relating to these students,” Jackson says.
Since 2002, more than 700 Washingtonian teens have participated in the free UW dental camps. Jackson no longer has to make the cross-state treks to Spokane or Yakima, thanks to a partnership developed with Eastern Washington University and the Washington Dental Service Foundation earlier this year. “Doug got us started with his trips to Spokane and whetted our appetite,” says Dr. Art DiMarco, professor in the EWU Department of Dental Hygiene. DiMarco coordinates EWU’s Dental Camp along with Rebecca Stolberg, a fellow EWU Dental Hygiene associate professor and registered dental hygienist. EWU drew dozens of kids to its first two dental camps in Spokane this year and received rave reviews. “It’s really wonderful to see the kids getting excited about dentistry,” DiMarco says. “The first clinic went very well and the volunteers all said they plan to come back.” A typical day at dental camp looks much like a day at the office in the life of a dentist. The students dress in lab coats, masks and gloves, and literally try their hand at typical dental procedures ranging from taking dental impressions to filling in a chipped front tooth on a dental model to applying a sealant onto a fake molar. Dr. Jim Sledge, an EWU Dental Camp mentor and fellow dental camp founding dentist, is thrilled with the evolution of the program and the collaboration between UW and EWU. “The folks at EWU really stepped up and said let’s do this,” Sledge says. “It was a really neat experience to see these kids who have never thought about a career in the dental industry… you could see the wheels turning and the kids thinking, ‘maybe I could do this.’” Jeannette Tarcha is a Viewpoints staff writer. She is a communication and media relations specialist for the UWAA.