Patient Experiences
PEDIATRIC CLINIC provides
preventative dental treatment through SCHOOL VISIT program More than 1,300 children aged four to 17 visit the School of Dentistry’s Pediatric Clinic each year. While roughly half of these children are regular patients, other children are also bussed in from underserved areas identified by Alberta Health Services as part of the school visit program. Through this novel approach, basic dental treatments are provided free of charge for these patients. “It’s the best way to give back to the community,” says Maryam Amin, associate professor of pediatric dentistry. “The school visit program is a win-win for us and the community.” Located in the Kaye Edmonton Clinic building, the pediatric clinic is held once a week for half a day. School-aged children are also seen during Dental Camps organized and held at various locations in Edmonton by Amin and her team – all thanks to a mobile dental unit. “Going out into the community locations enables us to screen and identify children who require treatment,” she says. “Once children in need are identified, we refer them to the university clinic to receive the required care. They are then scheduled to come in once a year for a regular checkup until they are 18.” As the popularity of the clinic continues to grow, Amin says they are now working towards expanding the program. While all of the admitted children received preventive treatments, including oral hygiene instruction, roughly 1,000 restorative dental procedures were also performed for those in need. For the 70 third- and fourth-year dental students working in the clinic under the tutelage of 12 pediatric instructors, being in an educational environment and expanding the clinic will be of the biggest benefit to the students.
Fourth-year dental student Kaylyn Sissons and her pediatric patient Harparinaz Aujla complete an appointment during the School’s pediatric clinic day.
“We want our students to learn how to work with pediatric patients and to manage more complicated cases. Many of our school visit and community patients need advanced treatments, which are rarely seen in our regular patients,” explains Amin. “Our students will have much more confidence providing these same procedures and services after they graduate. Many young dentists are reluctant to see children; we are one of the limited resources for the community.