Educational Value of a Collaborative Oral Health Global University Partnership

Abstract

Background: For more than 5 years, medical and dental students in a Canadian university have collaborated with peers in a university in Kampala to deliver school-based oral health programs for school children in Ugandan rural villages under the umbrella of The Brighter Smiles Africa Program. The entire collaborative project from its design, to the delivery, to its continual evaluation, creates educational opportunities for not only the subjects served but also participating university students from both countries. The 2009 global program in Uganda included an interactive poster presentation for children linking cavity formation to proper nutrition. Objectives: To assess the continual provisioning and impact of a fouryear dental study in five rural communities of Uganda. Methods: The core educational components include: working with local Ugandans to identify cultural-socially appropriate goals, developing and delivering child oral health promotion that is relevant, learning to implement oral health evaluation methodology (Decayed, Missing, Filled teeth Score-DMFS), providing preventative dental care measures including topical fluoride, and acquiring the problem solving and researching skills in an international setting. Results: Each year's collaborative teams are comprised of Ugandan dental students, multi-disciplinary Canadian students including: medicine, dentistry, engineering, accounting and post-graduate studies. Team members involved visit the rural communities for health promotion and for provide oral examinations of Ugandan school children. This is followed by written evaluations and personal reflections. All core educational components are highly valued, with particular focus on hands-on experience of provisioning dental care through examinations, DMFS scoring of teeth and topical fluoride application. University students are exposed to a range of oral health pathology which create learning opportunities, stimulate future research ideas and foster cross-cultural interactions. Poor posterior teeth were common among children examined. One suggestion for improvement was to include conduct of minor surgical procedures during oral program delivery. Conclusions: The success of the Brighter Smiles Africa Program extends beyond oral implications, as described by a student, Working with the children and seeing their knowledge and attitudes to oral health change over the years has been amazing. Participating university students have a better understanding of global citizenship in the health context. More importantly, initial success reinforces the importance of continual oral health promotion in schools. The established trust and working relationships with local Ugandan students and communities build the necessary foundation for future endeavours, not limited to the dental field.