From Toronto to Thunder Bay: students help northern communities in need
Two DDS4 students recently participated in a week-long trip to Thunder Bay to provide affordable dental care to the surrounding communities.
The Faculty offered students this opportunity through Sovereign Dental in Thunder Bay as part of the Dental Outreach Community Services course. The placement introduces students to alternative career paths outside major Canadian cities, exploring the nuances of dentistry in rural Ontario and spotlighting oral health disparities within the Canadian Indigenous population. Sovereign Dental’s patient base includes a significant number of adults and children from First Nation communities, refugees, newcomers, as well as insured and self-paying patients.
Dentistry students Inam Khan and Saba Khuffash spent a week gaining exposure to various aspects of dentistry, including preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry, endodontics, and surgery, focusing on areas of their interest and competency.
“I felt that the one week at Sovereign gave me more experience than one month at the school’s clinic,” says Khan. “It was a unique experience because the needs of the patients were different and the pace was much faster than at school. Many of the patients had a few very deep carious lesions and dental anxiety, so it forced me to grow and learn at a rapid rate with the help and guidance of the dentists there.”
Professor Amir Azarpazhooh, who is also the Faculty’s course director of dental outreach community services and dental outreach global services, says he hopes opportunities like this will help enlighten students on dentistry's pivotal role in enhancing health and achieving health equity within the community.
“This off-site rotation in underserved areas of Ontario vividly showcased dentistry's pivotal role in bolstering community health and equity,” he says. “Such experiences offer invaluable real-world insights to our students, allowing them to directly observe dentistry's impact on community well-being. Through initiatives like these, we equip our students to emerge as compassionate and proficient dental professionals committed to serving diverse populations.”
Azarpazhooh adds that this pilot project lays the groundwork for potential expansion into 2025, as the Faculty strives to continue providing these transformative opportunities for students.
Derval Clarke, owns and operates The Sovereign Dental Group along with his wife, Martesia Marshall, a pediatric dentist. Clarke shared his experience working with U of T Dentistry students.
“There is nothing better than helping to guide young practitioners who are eager to serve,” he says. “They understood the assignment and treated the patients accordingly.”
Khan says he felt very supported through his time at Sovereign Dental.
“Dr. Clarke and the team were super patient with us, despite our mistakes,” he says. “They were always happy to help us and also valued our opinions. I could not have asked for a better placement experience. Everyone was supportive, understanding, caring, and the learning was phenomenal.”
Khan says he has already recommended all of his friends and colleagues to go to dental offices in North Western Ontario (NWO).
“I would consider working in NWO myself, especially at Sovereign, on a part-time basis so I could consistently come back home to see my family,” he says. “The experience in NWO and the skills you develop are unlike what is available in the GTA.”
For more information, visit www.sovereigndental.ca.
Top photo: Students and faculty attended a lecture presented by Dr. Clarke (second from the left) about providing dental care in the Thunder Bay community