For Immediate Release

Friday, June 2, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Northeast Metro Tech Dental Assistant Students Hold Clinic on Oral Health

WAKEFIELD– Principal Carla Scuzzarella is pleased to announce that the Northeast Metro Tech sophomore dental assisting students hosted an oral health clinic this week.

On Wednesday, May 31, from 9-10:30 a.m. and 1:30-2:15 p.m., Northeast students, staff and faculty made their way through the cafeteria to listen to various presentations on how different substances affect the mouth, gums, teeth and body as a whole.

Working with Dental Assisting Department Head Rosemary Pisani and teacher Erin Selvitella, 30 students were broken into groups of two and given a topic in dentistry to research and then present. Topics included smoking, vaping, marijuana, chewing tobacco, meth mouth, alcohol, periodontal disease, wearing a sports guard and more.

“Part of the dental assisting curriculum is learning the skill of teaching others about oral health,” Pisani said. “This project gives students the opportunity to reach a large audience and showcase not only their research, but their presentation abilities.”

Mariann Lewis, of Revere, and Scott Snyder, of North Reading, presented on how e-cigarettes and vaping negatively affect everything from the mouth to circulation and the stomach. Promoting the slogan, “it’s not too late to drop the vape,” Lewis and Snyder explained that while some may consider e-cigarettes and vaping a healthier alternative to smoking, the liquid inside the devices can cause cancer and damage to the heart, brain, lungs and tissue.

On the other side of the room, Ling Chen, of Malden, and Sabrina Lopez Doyon, of Malden, explained “what you can eat to save your teeth,” outlining how to maintain a nutritious diet and stressing the importance of avoiding sugary foods, which can cause cavities. Displayed prominently on their poster board were several pictures of food, each which had the corresponding amount of sugar pinned in baggies next to the item. Six ounces of Chobani yogurt contains 19 grams of sugar, while eight fluid ounces of orange juice has 23 grams, and a tablespoon of Heinz ketchup includes four grams.

Ouissal Ait El Jadj, of Revere, and Hazlyn Jovel, of Chelsea, summarized the dangers of  cigarettes, “the Silent Killer,” including harmful ingredients like arsenic, methane, carbon monoxide, ammonia and more. Not only highly addictive, smoking tobacco leads to oral cancer, gingivitis and periodontitis.

“These presentations were extremely informative and students did a fantastic job researching their topic and explaining it to their peers and staff,” Principal Scuzzarella said. “We’re always excited to see the skills and information students learned in shop come to life through projects and real-life exercises.”

###