A James Cook University dentistry outreach program has visited Far North Queensland towns Cooktown and Hopevale for the first time as students hit the road to deliver important oral health messages.
As part of a third-year subject, students and JCU dentistry staff shared practical tips and resources with primary school kids, helping them understand how to care for their teeth and build lifelong habits.
To help improve oral health education, JCU partners with communities to try to make services work better for people living and working in rural and remote areas, and the community outreach program is always a highlight for third year students.
Students were joined by JCU staff members for the community oral health promotion project, which students design, deliver and evaluate.
“Cooktown and Hopevale were the most remote sites we have visited so far,” said Dr Kornelija Sfera, a registered dentist and JCU Dentistry Year 3 coordinator.
“It really was a transformative experience for our dentistry students and the staff involved who may have not had any previous personal experience with communities placed in such remote areas. It was very rewarding and memorable on many levels.”
Student team member Talyn Davies highlighted how meaningful this experience was, as a great way to give back and pass on valuable lessons to young people in remote areas.
“This project allowed us to live out JCU’s mission, connecting with rural communities firsthand,” Davis said.
“The kids made this a really special day. Each of them is so brilliant and bright, and seemed to have some awareness of many of the things we came here to talk to them about.
“Being such a rural, remote community, they don’t have some of the same opportunities or access to dental care that people in metro areas might take for granted.”
Fellow third-year student Andie Montag added that the outreach was an insightful look into disparate health outcomes in many rural and remote areas.
“I think activities like this are really helpful in bridging the gap between what the kids may know about oral health and actually putting changes into action,” Montag said.
“Lasting solutions come from making healthy choices the simplest ones, through public health policies and outreach that support community health from the ground up.”
