Having to study during exam period didn’t stop DMD student Jean-Daniel Azuelos from spending time teaching children at his son’s kindergarten about the importance of oral health.
The Garderie du Nouveau Monde invites parents to talk about their profession every year. And so on December 4th, Azuelos stayed a bit longer after dropping his son off to tell the class about his work in dentistry. He brought games, coloring books, and various activities to teach the children about the importance of oral health–and of course, remind them to brush their teeth.
But what was initially planned as a brief 30 minute visit turned into an hour, and a room of 15 kindergartners quickly turned to 60. The activities and captivating stories of sugarbugs caught the attention of adjacent classes, and soon almost the entire kindergarten was listening to Azuelos explain the role dentists play in society. So many showed up, in fact, that Azuelos ran out of toothbrushes to give away.
Azuelos says the experience has inspired him to continue building connections with his community to promote the importance of oral health in schools. In fact, he was surprised to find that almost all of the 4-5 year old children brushed their teeth alone, despite the fact that parents should help children brush their teeth until the age of 6. It’s this kind of lesson, he says, that is especially important to teach kids and their parents as early as possible.
