School of Dentistry students volunteer in UTHealthCares Community Health Fair’s return

Volunteers from the School of Dentistry (from left): Dr. Thomas Harrison and students Elizabeth Pohlmann, Elissa Guerra, Stephanie Diaz, Lily Dinh, Trinity Curry, Samantha Paredes, Hailey Kim, and Thanh Le. Photo courtesy of Dwight Andrews.

UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry students were among 50 to volunteer as UTHealthCares, an interprofessional, student-driven organization returned, held its Community Health Fair in February.

The 2023 fair, held Feb. 18 at UT Physicians Multispecialty - Jensen, marked the first since 2020 after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.

School of Dentistry volunteers provided free dental screenings, fluoride application, and oral hygiene education to 98 participants at the event.

UTHealth Houston student and faculty volunteers also took vitals, provided vision and blood glucose tests, distributed health and nutrition educational materials, and administered COVID-19 vaccinations.

“Even after the hiatus, a great turnout was observed, with over 100 patients coming in throughout the event and 25 receiving COVID vaccination,” said Thanh Le, a fourth-year dental student. “A strong sense of service was demonstrated through an interdisciplinary approach and collaboration with different health professions. UTHealthCares hopes to continue this tradition in 2024.”

School of Dentistry dental student volunteers included fourth-years Elissa Guerra, Le, and Elizabeth Pohlmann, and third-year Hailey Kim. Second-year dental hygiene volunteers included Trinity Curry, Stephanie Diaz, Lily Dinh, and Samantha Paredes. Dental outreach participation was coordinated by Assistant Professor Thomas Harrison DDS, MBA.