[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Greetings and Happy Holidays!
On behalf of the Student National Dental Association, I want to extend my greatest appreciation to all of our local chapters for your hard work throughout the year and in your respective communities. You guys are the heart and soul of our organization. Keep up the good work! SNDA has always been an organization that is rooted and grounded in strengthening our communities through service and outreach. This year, the Executive Board decided that it would be a fantastic idea to do a Holiday Service Project. I want to also thank the chapters that participated. Your efforts will be rewarded.
I want to inform everyone that we have begun preparing for our 44th Annual Convention this upcoming summer. I guarantee that you do not want to miss it this year! We will be taking over the great city of Atlanta, GA. This year we are planning to have CE courses available to D1 through D4 students and even recent graduates. Also, we are planning a service project with one of the local non-profit organizations. As always, we plan to provide fun and entertaining social events including our gala/senior banquet. I encourage everyone to start making plans to attend the convention this year. All information pertaining to registration, executive board positions, tentative schedule, scholarships, and House of Delegates information will be posted to our website at the beginning of next year (2016). Also, we will be launching our SNDA app again which will contain details about the convention as well. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones at the upcoming convention!
As we approach a new year and new semester, I wish continued success to everyone with all of your endeavors whether it be getting into your desired residency program, passing boards, or even acing a gross anatomy exam! You can always reach me directly at president.snda@gmail.com if you have questions or concerns. Now, let us continue to build on the success and momentum of last semester to further advance SNDA to greater heights! Happy New Year!
Christopher D. Cathey – President, SNDA
University of Mississippi
School of Dentistry (D’16)[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][dt_fancy_title title=”SNDA Newsletter Articles”][vc_accordion active_tab=”0″ collapsible=”yes”][vc_accordion_tab title=”University of Louisville Chapter of SNDA hosts Whitney Young Scholars Preview to Dentistry Workshop”][vc_column_text]By Amirah Jackson, D3 , University of Louisville School of Dentistry
On November 21, 2015 we hosted 20 Whitney Young Scholars for an interactive morning of learning the beautiful and rewarding field of Dentistry. Now, the Whitney M. Young Scholars Program annually recruits academically motivated seventh grade students in the Louisville Metro area, and over a six-year period prepares them for high school graduation and a successful transition into college. Eligible students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. The ultimate goal of our educational enrichment programs is academic achievement and college graduation.
It was our pleasure to have these amazing students listen to dental students give a description of their experiences leading to dental school, and the scholars seemed surprised to hear the variety. Presenting them with many options that have led us to dental school provided a sense of encouragement for the scholars, and presented the profession in a more interesting fashion. We went to the DMD clinics and taught the scholars Oral Hygiene Instructions. disclosing tablets to ensure that the scholars were able to evaluate their efforts in brushing, flossing etc. A few may have been embarrassed by the amount of plaque revealed on their teeth, but they said the experience helped them learn how to take better care of their oral health.
The students were led on a tour of the University of Louisville Dental School by our faculty advisor Dr. Sherry Babbage. The scholars appeared to have a wonderful time. The tour ended at the simulation clinic where their next hands-on activity began. The scholars were extremely excited to know they were going to be using hand-pieces to prepare buccal pits and a Class I on #19 and 30. Many of the students mentioned how it was challenging, but fun. Some mentioned that “they never knew what their dentist actually did to their teeth with the drill, so it was cool to see and do the procedure to fix a cavity.” Several scholars were happy to take the dentoform teeth home to show family and friends. Each scholar received 30-45 mins to work on the prep, and had one-on-one instruction by a dental student. This provided the opportunity to bond with the scholars and encourage them to pursue their educational, professional, and personal goals.
The workshop ended with a Q&A session in which the scholars were very active. The scholars had numerous questions, such as the cost of attending dental school, why we wanted to be dentists, networking advice, application advice, etc. This experience was a positive one for both our SNDA members, and non-SNDA volunteers, which was an additional positive point for our organization. All of our volunteers were awesome. Thanks to SNDA Members: Aaron Brown, Kamani Meriwether, and Dr. Sherry Babbage for organizing a great community service event.[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Howard University College of Dentistry Hosts 1st Annual SNDA Welcome Week”][vc_column_text]By: Adrianne Castro, D3 Howard University
Howard University College of Dentistry’s chapter of SNDA organized its inaugural SNDA Welcome Week, which featured activities for dental students, dental hygiene students, and post-doctoral residents during the first week of the Fall 2015 semester. From Monday, August 31 to Friday, September 4, the SNDA E-board hosted lunch & learns and meet & greets aimed to inform about the different facets of student life and facilitate networking.
During the week, three lunch and learns were held. On Monday, August 31, the chapter hosted “Lessons in a Lunchbox” to introduce students to the SNDA E-board and to learn more about the HUCD chapter of SNDA and their future events and programs. On Wednesday, September 2, the chapter hosted, “I Got In!… Now What?”, which offered advice and tips to D1 students on how to achieve success in dental school. The third lunch and learn held on Thursday, September 3 entitled, “What’s So Special about Your Specialty” was directed towards upperclassmen as a panel of residents from the Orthodontics, Pediatrics, Oral Surgery, and General Practice programs provided insight and fielded questions on their respective residencies.
The week was not complete, however, without some fun. On Tuesday, September 1, the HUCD chapter hosted a skate night at the Skate Palace in Temple Hills, Maryland. With over 130 tickets sold, there were students, faculty, staff members, residents, and members of the University of Maryland SNDA chapter in attendance as everyone roller skated the night away.
HUCD’s chapter closed out the 1st Annual SNDA Welcome Week at Bar 7 on Friday, September 4 with “Sip N’ Network.” Designed for students of all professional and graduate programs, the event brought together HUCD Students and members of the University of Maryland’s SNDA for an enjoyable night full of mingling and dancing to celebrate the start of the 2015-2016 academic school year.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”The Rise of USNDA”][vc_column_text]By: Alexandra Fitzgerald, D2 University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Happy New Year SNDA Family! My name is Alexandra Fitzgerald and I am currently a second year dental student at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. I have the privilege of serving as Member-At-Large. One of my largest responsibilities as Member-At-Large is to act as a liaison to Undergraduate Student National Dental Association (USNDA) chapters and members. Since being appointed to my position, I have been hard at work promoting the growth of USNDA. My primary goals for the year were to: increase the number of USNDA chapters nationally, expand upon SNDA’s connection to our undergraduate members, and act as a mentor to USNDA members.
My initial connection to SNDA was while I was still in undergrad. I had the opportunity to speak with SNDA members while attending open houses and at other SNDA-sponsored events, such as Impressions Day and Annual Oral Cancer Foundation 5Ks. These opportunities proved to be invaluable in allowing me to ask school-specific questions and guiding me into aspects of dentistry I may not have been able to explore otherwise. I highly encourage you to share information about upcoming events with me to be distributed to USNDA chapters. These events are at the heart of SNDA’s connection to USNDA members and one of the major draws many see in establishing USNDA chapters at their colleges and universities. I would love to see multiple USNDA chapters associated with each SNDA nationwide. From experience, most new USNDA chapters are formed
as a direct result of communication with SNDA members and their encouragement. Please do not hesitate to provide them with my email address, memberatlarge.snda@gmail.com, so I can help guide them in establishing their chapters. It is also important for USNDA chapters to be in communication with me to ensure they are receiving updates and information about USNDA events.
In regards to mentorship, I act as a mentor at all USNDA members. SNDA is a family and I see myself as the first cousin. It gives me pleasure to know they have achieved success and I was integral to helping guide them along the way. Although I am in Maryland and not able to physically meet with all USNDA members, they frequently email me with questions about the application process, preparation for their DAT, or in some cases, life advice. I am also able to meet with USNDA members at specific events during the year. I am pleased to say I will be at the 2016 ADEA Go-Dental Recruitment Fair to be held on March 12th in Denver, Colorado to meet with pre-dental students. There will also be a wide variety of USNDA specific events held in conjunction with SNDA’s 44th Annual Convention in July 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. I hope these events will provide USNDA members insight into the application process and dental school experience. If you are interested in acting as a mentor to USNDA members or volunteering at some of the convention events in July 2016, please let me know![/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”MUSC Hosts the Clemente Project”][vc_column_text]
By: Ronnetta Sartor, D3 Medical University of South Carolina
On September 29, 2015, six MUSC SNDA members participated in Trident Technical College’s Clemente Project. The goal of the Clemente Project is to increase critical reasoning skills from the study of humanities to provide homeless and disadvantaged students with the tools needed to escape multi-generational poverty. The program allows a range of students from homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers, prisons, and veteran villas to receive free tuition, books, computers, mentoring and bus passes to help further their education.
Under the supervision of our chapter advisor, Dr. Gwendolyn Brown, our members provided oral hygiene instructions to the students and answered their questions about oral hygiene. The Clemente Project students asked many questions regarding dental insurance, how to become a patient at MUSC’s dental clinic, implants, dentures, and basic oral hygiene concerns. Surprisingly, several of the students were unaware of the basic oral hygiene techniques so we had the great opportunity to instruct and demonstrate these basic techniques. We also provided Oral Cancer Screenings to some of the students. Our chapter President, Joshlyn Wilson, stated: “This was a very rewarding experience because many of the patients have not seen a dentist in many years. One student stated that she had not been to the dentist in many years because she has cleft palate and many dentists did not know how to treat her years ago. I was able to direct her to our special needs dental clinic at MUSC and provide her with basic oral hygiene instructions to increase her comfort level with dentists. All of the students were eager to learn and had tons of questions about how to improve their oral health. This was our chapter’s first time volunteering to help this community and it has been a great experience overall.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Upcoming Events”][vc_column_text]ASDA Annual Session, March 2-5, 2016 Dallas, TX
ADEA GoDental, March 12-14, 2016 Denver, CO
44th Annual SNDA Convention, July 21-24, 2016 Atlanta, GA—Themed “Southern Hospitality”
- Registration opens January 15th—Chapters are encouraged to begin registering the members who will begin on behalf of their respective chapters
Regional Conference Calls w/ the Director of Regional Communications, 6PM EST
- January 10, 2016
- February 7, 2016
- March 13, 2016
- April 10, 2016
- May 1, 2016
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