Student News

The 2022 Student Informative Poster winners received free registration the Keystone Dental Health Conference® in Monroeville, PA. Hotel accommodations for one night and an invitation to the President's 20's themed Murder Mystery Dinner.

Congratulations to the 2022 winners:

1st Place: TRANSitioning in Dentistry Presented by: Keishia Frias, Erica Hindermyer, Laquashia Serrano - Lancaster County Technical Institute
2nd Place: The Effects of Ecstasy Abuse on the Oral Cavity - Presented by: Jada Clark and Alexis Palacio from Manor
3rd Place: The Slow Decline: Trends in the Dental Workforce Presented by: Shannon Demine and Mandi Reese from Westmoreland County Community College

PDHA hosted the Informative Posters online on 11-18-20 and it was a success!!!
The students were well prepared and presented information on a variety of subjects. The judges were impressed and their comments showed how much they enjoyed hearing the students, and seeing the effort they put into their posters.
A list of the top 10 posters and the schools that presented them follows. Way to go!!!
Join PDHA in congratulating ALL the presenters and thank you to the judges for your feedback and encouragement.
We hope to see you in Erie, PA in October 2021.

1st Place ($250) “The Innovation of Smiles”
Tori Bish, Sonnet Woodrow Westmoreland

2nd Place ($200) “Transforming Treatment for Transplant Patients”
Tara Roupp, Kimberly Bergenstock Penn College

3rd Place ($150) “ Anesthetizing the Fear of Dental Anxiety”
Alexis Marker, Elizabeth Rea Westmoreland

4th Place ($100) “Going Green: Innovative Products for Periodontal Prevention and Maintenance”
Madilyn Serenko, Erin Gohn, Kylee Gaspar Penn College

5th Place ($50) “ Nuts over Coconut Oil Pulling”
Eleni Paradisis, Caitlyn Gentile, Kate Yakovleva, Jose Fulgencio CCP

6th Place ($50) “ The Move Toward Intraoral Digital Scanning”
Rachel Anderson, Yasmeen Froukh CCP

7th Place ($50) “ Going Green in Dentistry”
Abigail Sihler, Alexi Benner NCC

8th Place ($50) “ Toothbrush Induced Epilepsy”
Eliza Miller, Katie Reimer NCC

9th Place ($50) Don’t Forget About Me: Association of Periodontal Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease”
Lauren Reckner, Alyssia Reifer, John Rogers, Emily Teresi Univ. of Pitt

10th Place ($50) TIE
“ Rethink Your Drink”
Shawna Daley, Ciara Horvat Westmoreland

“ The Impact of Cranberries on Oral Health”
Serenity Rodriguez, Lesly Balan-Lopez NCC

The Fortis Scranton Dental Hygiene students hosted it’s 8th annual Give Kids a Smile Day event on Saturday February 29, 2020. Approximately 30 children were provided with free exams, prophylaxis, fluoride, radiographs, and sealants. There were 19 dental hygiene students, 5 RDH’s and 2 dentists that volunteered their time.

Seventeen Pennsylvania College of Technology students recently returned from the Dominican Republic, where they provided dental care to children at six schools in the Las Terrenas area. Check out this amazing article of these students doing big things, here! 

The Dental Hygiene Class of 2018 completed preventive dental hygiene treatment for 1,683 patients in the Benco Dental Health Clinic.  This treatment consisted of: oral exams, including an oral cancer screening, home care instruction, dental and periodontal charting, scaling, polishing, and fluoride treatments.  Additional procedures are based upon patient need and may include dental x-rays, mouth guards, bleaching trays, sealants, SDF treatment for dental cavities, tooth desensitization, and denture cleanings.

Second year dental hygiene students and dental assisting students worked together to treat individuals with special needs from Keystone Community Resources and dental hygiene students provided care to clients from Northeast Counseling Services.  Second year dental hygiene students, along with dental assisting students treated 24 children during Kids’ Cavity Prevention Day and 30 children visited the interactive dental health stations conducted by the first year dental hygiene students.

Dental hygiene students extended their preventive efforts in the community by providing dental health instruction and supplies to 2,102 individuals ranging from the very young to the very old.  Students also participated in the Penn State Hazleton Health Fair and the LCCC Wellness Fair. Educational supplies for children and teens were provided by the P&G Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation.

During their last semester, students designed, implemented, and evaluated community dental health projects for the following groups:

• Staff in-service program for Birchwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Nanticoke
• Danville State Hospital
• The Manna House in Wilkes-Barre
• New Mom’s Group in Kingston
• Shikellamy High School special education class
• North Pocono Intermediate School District special education class
• Staff in-service program for Endless Mountain Health System

The Dental Hygiene Program will continue to be very busy during the spring semester.  The annual Kids’ Cavity Prevention Day event will be held on March 30, 2019.   Dental Hygiene students will also be participating in the Benco Board Bowl, a competition for local dental hygiene programs.

95th Annual Session
Scranton, PA 11-9-18

1st Place  – “Stem Cells” by Emily Satterfield, Jessica Davis, Fortis Institute – Erie.

2nd Place  – “Xylitol: A Useful Adjunct to Caries Control” by Lindsay Shoap, Karen Stanford;
Montgomery County Community College

3rd Place  – “Identifying Child Abuse in the Dental Environment” by Jessica Penna, Julie Dietrich, and Bailey Smith; Northampton Community College

4th Place  – “Riva Star” by Tiffany Yuskoski, Alexis Wilner, Dayna Behm, Calista Toczek; Luzerne
County Community College

5th Place  – “Periodontitis – It’s in Your Genes” by Brittney Youells, Stephanie Cifelli, Kristie Curran, Andriana Hetmen; Manor College

6th Place  – “Don’t Fear! Ozone Therapy is Here!” Marissa Flickinger, Lauren Mason, Westmoreland
County Community College

7th Place ($50) – “Down Syndrome” Emily Swartwood, Isabel Tarentella; Montgomery County Community
College

8th Place ($50) – “The Negative Effects of Cannabis Abuse on General and Oral Health” by Ella Raiskaya,
Rafal Albazi, Maan Saba, Northampton Community College

9th Place ($50) – “The Revolutionary Power of Intraoral Scanners” by Julia Geer; University of Pittsburgh

10th Place ($50) – “Acupuncture Treatment for Temporomandibular Disorder” by Pamella Price, Elizabeth
Corvino, University of Pittsburgh