Annabelle joined us for a virtual work experience week last week, with Annabelle's career aspirations being Oral Health related, she was tasked to conduct some research into the Oral Health of all ages, from toddlers all the way through to the elderly. Read more about her virtual experience here:
After overcoming the uphill battle of securing a weeks worth of work experience in a Dental Clinic, it was only a week prior to the work experience commencing that unfortunately I experienced the reality of the ever-remaining complications of COVID-19 as my placement was cancelled last minute due to staff absences. It was this moment whereby I contacted Healthbox, explaining my predicament and they kindly accommodated my placement. With Healthbox CIC being a company whom specialise in educating citizens of the United Kingdom in Healthcare and Wellbeing, I developed a strong appetent to learn more about them and their work - particularly as my Mother, who is a local Headteacher, uses Healthbox within her school as am extremely beneficial aid to enlighten her students about Mental Health.
My concern particularly lay within the Oral Health and Hygiene field as I’m an aspiring Cosmetic Dentist, currently studying A-Level; Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics in anticipation for beginning a Bachelor of Dental Surgery course at University in September 2023.
Despite 7th – 11th March being a week whereby healthy eating was of main focus rather than Oral Health, this meant that no Oral Health related sessions were scheduled for this week, Jess and Georgie at Healthbox adapted a timetable for myself more relevant to my desired career pathway. I truly appreciated this flexibility and adaptability as it enabled me to widen my perception into Oral Health and Hygiene. This is something that Universities will look for when applying for a dentistry course as it amplifies your independent passion for the oral health sector.
I conducted a research project into common Oral Diseases experienced by infants, children, adults and the elderly - exploring the side effects, symptoms and preventions of prevalent diseases i.e Tooth Decay, Halitosis, Tooth Abscesses, Xerostomia etc. which are frequently seen by many Dental Practitioners across the UK. I will also be cultivating more knowledge when working closely with a Dentist based in Cheshire and could use this to deepen my educational resources that I am producing for Healthbox. Once I collected sufficient research and information, I presented it in the form of a PowerPoint for future use in Oral Health & Hygiene sessions ran by Healthbox CIC – this meant that I had to display it in a format that was scientific and informative yet also understandable/accessible for a range of citizens of any ability – this heightened my skill to provide customizable explanation for highly intelligent, scientific information.
With World Oral Health Day being Sunday 20th March, I am currently producing social media content for Healthbox’s social media pages to use in order to reach a vast audience and provide snippets of tuition to increase Oral Health awareness and hopefully get the followers of Healthbox to smile a little more often!
Although my designated week (7th – 11th March) has concluded, my work with Healthbox CIC has only just began, the team and I are arranging future experiences for myself to mentor students using my ever-growing knowledge about Oral Health and Hygiene and perhaps have an insight into how uneducated some of the population are within this compass.