When we did TBD in the last visit, it was around 11, and the weather was very hot. For this visit, we shifted TBD session to morning right after singing session. At 9.15am Yan Rui started to explain and repeat again the correct brushing technique to the children. He chose some children to demonstrate, to make sure that they really understand the brushing method. After the first TBD held in the first visit, we collected all toothbrushes from them and wrote down their name and stick on the toothbrush. We kept the toothbrushes for them to eliminate the possibility that they might forget to bring their toothbrush in the second visit. Toothbrushes were distributed and new toothbrushes were given to those who didn’t attend school when we visited them the first time. This time, Yan Rui, Lishen, Wuan Phing, Sock Nee and Venga guided them individually to brush. Sien Cher and Angela (the camara girl) were inside the classroom playing with the children and prevent them form running around. ‘London bridge’ fallen down for countless time. Sien Cher almost ended up having asthma attack playing with the kids and so the hero Venga took over and controlled the kids.
TBD ran smoothly and it ended at 10.00am for recess. We utilized their recess time to write down their names on pamphlets that we made with pictures of correct brushing technique, and information on correct way of keeping a toothbrush, when to change a toothbrush and etc.
When the kids came back, the next program for them was slides show. The first part of the slide show was done by Lishen. She covered the topic of ‘Which habits should be followed?’ The purpose of the talk is to educate the children about what oral habits that can and cannot be followed; as well as why good oral habits should be followed and bad oral habits should be avoided. Preparation like discussion with group members for ideas and suggestions, the age and mentality of the target group were considered and types and amount of information that should be delivered were chosen. Again children were sited on the floor while listen to the talk. The children showed a lot of interest and gave good responses.
To let the children have a rough idea on members of a dental team and what they would expect when they visit a dental clinic, another slide show about dental team and dental clinic were added. The reason of having this activity is to introduce the dental clinic and the dental team; which consist of the dental officer, the dental nurse, dental surgery assistant, dental technologist, and driver, to the kids through visual aids.
Photos of a typical dental clinic setting and each member in the dental team were projected on the blackboard, and Sock Nee explained the photos one by one to the children. This slideshow gave the children an idea on how a dental clinic work, hence making them feel more comfortable when they visit the dental clinic. From this activity, we found out that children are able to point out the dental chair and differentiate most of the members of a dental team. This tells us that the children are already vaguely familiar with the dental clinic and its constituents.
In order to test the understanding of the children regarding oral health education that we imparted in the children through the slide show, talk, game and various activities, we had quiz. The quiz was also to help the children remember certain basic facts better. 10 questions were prepared by Wuan Phing based on what we have taught the children in the 2 visits. Some beautiful and colorful stickers were prepared as prizes to encourage the children to answer the quiz. The quiz was given verbally and the children showed great interest in answering the questions. Stickers were given away as prizes to whoever be the first to give the correct answer for each question. The children were very excited as they received the stickers. Through this quiz, we learnt that the children, though at very young age, are able to understand and remember what we have taught them. The children need some “motivation” ( stickers in this case) to make them interested in learning.
At 10.50am Yan Rui and Venga had the opportunity to show their acting talent. They acted a sketch about ways to control oral health. The sketch conveys the information on how to prevent their teeth from caries. We came up with idea of doing sketch with Yan Rui and Venga playing the important role, one as a TOOTH SAVER and another as a PLAQUE MAN. This sketch taught the children on how to keep their teeth away from plaque by tooth brushing, using mouth rinses, flossing and visit dentist regularly. We involved 2 children in the sketch and the teacher too. The children enjoyed themselves very much and so do we. From this sketch we learnt that children get the information fast using real person as a study model.
In the sketch, it was mentioned that visit to dentist is one of the way to keep the oral hygiene. So the activity was followed by Role Play, which allowed the children to play the role of a ‘dentist’ and ‘patient’. Through this fun interaction, the children were exposed to the simple clinical procedure of oral health screening. They had a chance to view the oral cavity and how decay teeth look like. At the same time it allowed us to make a quick assessment of the oral health status of the children. A brief introduction was conducted by Angela and Sock Nee for about 15 minutes and children were divided into 2 groups, with each group consisted of around 12 children. From this two groups we pair them up and each of them take turns to play the role of dentist as well as patient. Mini lab coats were given to the children who acted as dentist. The role play activity took around 30 minutes to complete. Wuan Phing and Venga help to disinfect the mouth mirrors which were used by the children and other group members help to guide the children and hold the torchlight for them at the same time noted down whether the children require any dental treatment or not. From there we chose 2 children with the cleanest teeth and we gave them a soft toy of Ipin. From this fun activity, we learnt that the duration of the activity for each pair of students to participate in the role play has to be kept short in order to prevent other children waiting for too long. Most of the children have poor oral hygiene condition which indicates more health awareness information should be provided to them.
After every child had their turn, it was already 11.45am. Same as the first visit, we ended with prize giving ceremony. We gave away prizes for the cleanest teeth and each one of them was given a pamphlet and an eraser. We gave a hamper for the teacher too to show our gratitude for allowing us to hold the program and given us their best cooperation.
The children there are cute. They shouted ‘jumpa lagi’ (see u again) before they left. Yea, we will see them again in paedo clinic. But as for now, I wish all of them the very best, stay healthy and happy, study hard, quickly learn up how to write their name and be a great men or women in future.
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