UM Today | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

April 30, 2024 —

Over the past 25 years, thousands of inner-city children have received the dental care they need through a partnership between Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and the Winnipeg School Division.

UM Dental College celebrated this important milestone on April 26 at an event announcing that Dr. Alfred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation and the Cholakis Dental Group will now sponsor the pediatric dental outreach program. With this support, it will now be known as the Cholakis Dental Group: Kids Dental Outreach Program.

Stakeholders from the Winnipeg School Division and key partners visited the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry as part of the anniversary event.

The outreach program was launched with Shaughnessy Park School in 1998 by Dr. Charles Lekic, then head of pediatric dentistry at the UM dental school. The program has since expanded to provide free dental care to youth from 18 Winnipeg School Division schools.

“The program provides children with much-needed oral care and plays an important role in the education of our dental and dental hygiene students,” said Dr. Anastasia Kelekis-Cholakis, dean of the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. “We appreciate the strong partnership we have with participating schools and the Winnipeg School Division, and we are grateful for the generous support of our new sponsors. We look forward to the next 25 years.”

Mohammad Rezai, assistant superintendent of anti-racism, equity and climate justice, Winnipeg School Division, thanked the dental college for offering the program.

“I know it means a lot, to a lot of families,” Rezai said. “I was a newcomer. I know what it means to really not have the money for some of those treatments. So this is very valuable, I really appreciate it and am grateful for the collaboration.”

Stakeholders from the Winnipeg School Division were invited to the dental college to tour the dental building and hear from key partners. Dr. William Wiltshire, professor and head of the department of preventive dentistry and chairman of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, gave a presentation about the program.

Generous support

During the event, Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice provost (health sciences) and dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, announced the new funding and thanked Dr. Alfred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation and the Cholakis Dental Group for ensuring the health of the children. outreach program continues to provide excellence in dental care and education.

(From left to right) Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice provost (health sciences) and dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences; Cindy Krowetz, office manager, Cholakis Dental Group; Elizabeth Deacon, board member, Dr. Alfred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation; and John Deacon, chairman of the Dr. Alfred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation.

“Your support will help UM provide essential dental services to inner-city elementary school students for decades to come,” Nickerson said.

Cindy Krowetz, office manager, Cholakis Dental Group, said that, along with the generous support of the Dr. Alred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation, “We are here today to strengthen a program designed to provide dental health care to children from the Winnipeg School Division. and the learning experience of our dental students at Dr. Improving Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry.”

John Deacon, chairman of the Dr. Alfred E. Deacon Medical Research Foundation, said: “We are very pleased to have partnered with Dr. Ernest Cholakis and his financial contribution can help keep this going.”

Lasting impact

During the school year, approximately 40 children are taken by bus to the dental school clinic every week on Fridays for care.

In 2022-2023, dental students screened more than 2,500 children in kindergarten through 6th grade. More than 1,000 treatments were provided to 209 students through the Children’s Dental Outreach Program and another program called SMILE plusa partnership with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

Approximately 40 children are bused to the dental school clinic every Friday during the school year as part of the Cholakis Dental Group: Kids Dental Outreach Program.

“Many children come to us with a lot of pain and discomfort,” says Dr. Jim Ksionzyk, assistant professor and director of the undergraduate program in pediatric dentistry, Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry. “Through the treatments we provide, we can relieve that pain, and for many children, we can prevent further complications with their adult teeth by treating their baby teeth.”

UM’s dental outreach program has a positive impact on children, says Kim Storer, a community support worker at Lord Nelson School and Weston School.

“A lot of them have never been to a dentist before and they’re a little apprehensive at first, but the dental students are so great with them. After they come, they love it,” Storer said.

The Cholakis Dental Group: Kids Dental Outreach Program will not only continue to serve inner-city children, but will provide dental students with valuable experience. Providing care to children through the program has inspired fourth-year dental student Navi Mann to pursue a one-year residency in pediatric dentistry at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.

“Ultimately, treating children comes down to how you treat them, and you have to make dentistry less scary for them, which can be a little challenging,” Mann said. “But I think staying positive, trying to show the kids what you’re doing, being creative with them all the time – it really helps – and this program has given me an idea of ​​what treating kids in the real world will be like . ”

Matthew Krutchak