Efforts To Raise Awareness On Dental Hygiene

The Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia Asian Medical Student Association (AMSA NUMed) organised an Oral Health Camp at Sekolah Kebangsaan Ladang Pendas in Gelang Patah, Johor, on the 27th of October, 2022.

The camp hosted 85 students, of which 65 were from the underprivileged Orang Asli community and 20 were non-Orang Asli students, to raise awareness on dental hygiene among school-going children and educate the public on basic dental hygiene practices such as mouth self-examination and toothbrushing techniques. This also gave NUMed students an opportunity to interact with the local communities on public health matters.

The Oral Health Camp is part of a year-long programme initiated by the Oral Health Division (OHD) of Johor under the Sekolah Angkat Generasiku project by the Ministry of Health Malaysia to provide continuous dental health education to the students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Ladang Pendas. AMSA NUMed was glad to jump onboard with this endeavour to assist the Ministry.

This collaborative effort between AMSA NUMed, OHD, and Southern Lion Malaysia began with a 30-minute Senamrobik session led by AMSA NUMed members, which saw ecstatic students dancing and singing along happily. Following the Senamrobik session, the Southern Lion team hosted a storytelling session, and its mascot joined the students and volunteers for a fun photo shoot. There were also six stations set up with group activities to educate the children on dental hygiene facts through interactive games and activities.

AMSA NUMed manned the stations where the children were taught proper toothbrushing and handwashing techniques, and the importance of hand hygiene and dental health, providing our volunteers with a great opportunity to engage with and spend time with them. To add to the excitement, lucky draws were also held throughout the day with special prizes being handed out to the happy winners.

The event concluded with the formal launching ceremony of the Sekolah Angkat Generasiku project, which included performances by Sekolah Kebangsaan Ladang Pendas students and speeches by various officials. This paved the way for an exciting one-year programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Ladang Pendas, where they will continue to receive assistance in the form of check-ups and constant reminders about the importance of dental hygiene. At the end of the day, each student went home with a NUMed goody bag containing snacks, toothpastes, and toothbrushes.

Following the success of the Oral Health Camp, AMSA NUMed President and Organising Chairperson, Lan Yuen Qi stated that the club will continue to promote public health through similar community outreach events. AMSA NUMed will be collaborating with Kechara Soup Kitchen in Johor and Sherun Old Folks Home for a few more volunteer opportunities by the end of 2022. Aside from promoting public health, AMSA NUMed will once again host the much-anticipated Premed Workshop in 2023 for fellow pre-university and high school students as well.

Images source: AMSA NUMed