The topic of kids dominated some letters that I have received from hygienists. Although there are plenty of proud mommas in dental hygiene, these letters were talking about other people's kids. Since it's National Children's Dental Health Month, I thought I'd share a few comments from them.
Amy Spaude, a 15-year veteran from Wisconsin, works in a periodontal practice in Green Bay. A mother of two children, Spaude opened her letter with a line from a Whitney Houston song: "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way." Spaude then noted, "As my children have grown, so has my involvement in theirs as well as other children's lives."
She wrote, "February has to be one of the busiest and most rewarding months in my life. Since my son started school three years ago, I have been given a wonderful opportunity. The CTPO has sponsored a dental health week at Abrams Elementary. Since I was the only mom/hygienist, the job was mine.
"Each year, I try to come up with a different display for the lobby and handouts that the children taken home every day. I arrange for area dentists to donate toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, fluoride rinse, and a 'fun' item. What is not donated, the CPTO purchases for me. I then make up individual bags for all 325 students. I usually spend a full day giving presentations to all of the classes. They are usually 30 minutes long, and I try to show them an informative video and really emphasize the basics of good oral hygiene. There are always so many stories they have to tell and so many smiles to see."
Spaude said that, during the rest of the year, she volunteers one or two afternoons a week to help out in classrooms and is now a vice president in the CTPO. In addition, she is the superintendent of her church's Sunday school program and directs the children's choir.
"It is so rewarding to see how those little minds are growing and knowing that you are helping a little," Spaude wrote.
I also received a letter from Barbara Erosh-Anderson of Old Bridge, N.J., who has been practicing since 1978.
Erosh-Anderson wrote, "My first-born, Pamela, now 19, was born microcephalic, mildly retarded, with gross and fine motor problems in 1982. After moving to New Jersey in 1986, my good friend Claire Young and I decided to enhance the local parks and recreation department's special education/recreation programs with special events. We formed our nonprofit organization with help from other parents and the community and started to raise money to run evens and pay for needed items.
"At the time, we also felt that our children needed a place to call 'home,' and also started to raise funds for a facility for recreation for children with disabilities. We raised money with golf tournaments, 5K and 10K runs, and fashion shows.
"It took us nine years, but the Camp R.O.B.I.N. facility proudly opened in 1998 with $50,000 matching funds that we had raised. In addition to opening a facility, we have been subsidizing the township-run R.O.B.I.N. program with money for scholarships to attend the R.O.B.I.N. programs, special events, trips, needed sports and safety equipment, and helps to coordinate community volunteers for our kids' programs."
R.O.B.I.N. stands for Recreation in Old Bridge for those In Need. The facility that Erosh-Anderson helped bring to life offers activities for the disabled, including horticulture, floor hockey, fitness programs, computer enrichment programs, arts and crafts, cooking, and other social programs.
Erosh-Anderson's second marriage in 2000 was to one of her first employers when she graduated from dental hygiene school, Dr. James Anderson. She wrote of him, "He will tell you that I am very persistent when it comes to my kids -- all 198 registrants ? and will do almost anything for the kids with disabilities who attend the R.O.B.I.N. programs. There is a life outside of hygiene, and some of it involves putting smiles on the faces of kids with disabilities."
A resident of a Philadelphia suburb, Sheila Gerson, wrote RDH about her desire to become more involved with children. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Gerson got married, raised kids, and put her career on hold. Then she obtained a bachelor's degree in education from Temple University.
"Once my children were of school age, the need to return to my career became very powerful," Gerson wrote. ""I decided to work for the Philadelphia Board of Education as a dental hygienist. What a great decision for me!
"Working with inner-city school children was my forte. Their dental needs were so great. The lack of understanding for the need for good oral health was amazing. The program consisted of dental assessments, classroom education, assembly programs, parent and faculty workshops, referral and placement of children with dental needs to private and city clinics, as well connecting parents to various dental insurance agencies."
Gerson later received a master's degree in education from Beaver College and is now a grandmother. She concluded her letter, "Dental hygiene has been my sole career. I have loved every moment of it. Working with children and spreading good dental cheer has been a joy for me. Education is the key to success!"
Another Pennsylvanian, Dianne Groves of Pittsburgh, wrote us about her educational programs for preschool and kindergarten children in area schools.
Groves wrote, "It has been a delight to sing songs and read stories to encourage the children's learning. The kids also role-play by acting out the parts of the dentist and the patient.
"I am very proud of two characters that I created to help teach about good food choices ? Holly the Happy Tooth and Sammy the Sad Tooth. My own children are very familiar with the characters because they have assisted me in teaching through the years during National Children's Dental Health Month."
In addition, Groves leads a Girl Scout troop and presents dental hygiene as a career choice to older Scouts.
"I have become focused on relating my profession to children of all ages," Groves said.
I'd like to conclude this installment of Hartley's Corner with a quote from a letter from Tracy Collins of Clifton, N.J. Collins was feeling restless after only three years of practicing.
She wrote, "I stumbled on a job offer at a pediatric office. My life hasn't been the same since then. I love what I do and feel instant gratification with every mother and child I come into contact with. I know what I do makes a difference in the lives of my patients.
"I am reassured of this each time I am approached outside of the office by a gentle tug on my leg and I look down to find little Julie, whose 20 tiny teeth I had just sparkled on Friday, are smiling up at me. Or the mother whose autistic child remembers how I taught him to brush his teeth.
"I may not be creating world peace, but I am able to make a difference in the life of a child. I can't think of a greater gift I have ever been given."
I can't either.
