GHSU student Brittany Waters provides dental care for a Special Olympics athlete.

Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) dental students recently gave special smiles to some special athletes.

College of Dental Medicine students partnered with Georgia Dental Association dentists and hygienists and hygiene students from GHSU, Middle Georgia Technical College and Western Georgia Technical College to provide dental screenings, fluoride varnish applications and oral hygiene education to athletes at the Special Olympics Master's Bowling event Aug. 25 as a part of the Special Olympics program. They also distributed toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss.

The event was at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. The 800-plus volunteers included 17 GHSU faculty, staff and students, who helped screen 343 athletes.

Special Smiles was developed by Dr. Steven Perlman in 1993 to address the dental needs of disabled athletes. Adopted by the Special Olympics in 1997, it is recognized as an essential component of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative, which provides health screenings to improve athletes' ability to train and compete in the Special Olympics.

Athletes requiring additional treatment are referred to Georgia Dental Association dentists who treat special-needs patients, as well as the Dentistry for the Developmentally Disabled Foundation in Atlanta, which treats only special-needs patients. The athletes receive postcards following the event reminding them to address concerns identified at the screening.

The Georgia Dental Association has organized the Georgia Special Smiles program since 1997, making Georgia one of the first states to implement the program, according to Clinical Director Dr. Jonathan Dubin.

Dubin assumed the role of clinical director from Dr. John McNamara, who helmed the Georgia Dental Association's Special Smiles program for 10 years.

Dubin and his wife served as volunteers for the Special Olympics athletic events prior to the inception of the Special Smiles program. When the Special Smiles program was introduced in Georgia, Dubin shifted his efforts from athletics to Special Smiles.

More than 1.2 million athletes in more than 100 countries have received screenings as a part of the Healthy Athletes program since its inception.

Special-needs patients are largely underserved, although a great deal of their needs can be met in the office. This type of event provides a valuable opportunity for students to become "acclimated to [the special needs] population" early in their career, according to Dubin, who noted it also encourages special-needs patients to feel at ease with dentists.

"This was my first opportunity to volunteer with Special Smiles," says Brittany Waters, GHSU dental student and liaison between Dubin and GHSU student volunteers. "The entire experience was so rewarding and we could tell that the athletes really appreciated us being there."

While Dubin credits dental suppliers such as 3M, Benco, Delta Dental and Pulpdent for their donations, he also expressed appreciation for the oral hygiene professionals and student volunteers for their efforts and attitudes.

"The dentists who volunteer for these events are happy to be here. The dental students are happy to be there and they treat these special needs with kindness, care and a happy attitude. And that rubs off on [the athletes]," says Dubin.

Data collected during the event are compiled to depict the oral health of Special Olympics athletes worldwide and to encourage dental schools to increase special-needs instruction.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver established Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago as a nonprofit charitable organization. Today the event includes more than 20,000 annual competitions and 500,000 volunteers worldwide.

-Story by LaTrese Lawrence, media relations coordinator, Georgia Health Sciences University