GSDM Spreading Smiles Across the Atlantic
Volunteers from GSDM attended the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens, Greece June 25 -July 4. The group volunteered as part of Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® initiative to provide oral health screenings, flouride treatment, mouth guards, oral hygeine instruction, and referrals to the athletes. Led by Senior Global Clinical Advisor of the Special Smiles® and GSDM Clinical Professor Dr. Steve Perlman, GSDM volunteers included Associate Professor Dr. Paul Farsai, Clinical Professor and Director of Predoctoral Removable Prosthodontics Dr. Ronni Schnell, and alum and Schnell’s husband Richard Short DMD 82. Khurrum Sheikh DMD 07 was also there, along with Ghassan Khoury DMD 96, AEGD 97, MPH 99 and his wife Thenia Kazou AEGD 07.
Said Dr. Schnell, “It was such an honor and wonderful opportunity for me and my husband to be a part of Healthy Athletes at the World Games. The most memorable aspect was working with and managing to communicate with the international athletes and their family members or coaches. Additionally, meeting and working with healthcare professionals from all around the globe made the world seem that much smaller with our common language.”
The team screened 3,081 athletes, which was 47.3% of the athletes in attendance—the most out of any of the Healthy Athletes disciplines. The work of the volunteers was significant, as it was found that 46.5% of the athletes in attendance had untreated tooth decay, and 61.1% had diseases of the gums. In addition, 15% of the athletes were in urgent need of treatment and will now have better access to care as a result of the referrals made by the screeners.
“The games were very successful in that even with the enormous financial crisis in Greece, the volunteers and families and, more importantly, the 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities, were welcomed with open arms amidst the crises in Athens and all the events were coordinated and organized without any problems,” said Dr. Farsai. This was Dr. Farsai’s third time volunteering internationally for Special Smiles. He also volunteered at the World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan in 2005 and the Middle East North Africa Games (MENA) in 2007 in Abu Dhabi.
Photos are available on facebook and flickr .