Tom Dudding studied dentistry at Bristol and graduated in 2012 following a degree in Biochemistry at Birmingham.
In this article he shares his experience of volunteering as a dentist at the Special Olympics in Bath. He hopes other young dentists will also consider volunteer work.
The 2013 Special Olympics was held in Bath this August with 1,700 athletes from England, Scotland and Wales competing in twelve different sports. Bath 2013 was the ninth Special Olympics, which is held every four years and is for children and adults with intellectual disability. The aim of Special Olympics Great Britain is to provide every child and adult with an intellectual disability, who wants to have the opportunity to participate in quality sports training and competition, to improve their lives and in turn, the lives of everyone they touch. The opening ceremony was held in the Royal Crescent in Bath, with Britain's Got Talent star; Susan Boyle entertaining the athletes, volunteers and crowd. She summed up the atmosphere by saying, "You can actually feel the passion in the air. Everyone is so enthusiastic about what they are doing and its fun!"
Running alongside the sport is the Healthy Athletes scheme. This is an international programme started in America, which focuses on seven specific areas, including audiology (healthy hearing), podiatry (fit feet) and dentistry (special smiles). Each athlete, coach and family member was provided with the opportunity to receive screening in these areas and was given advice on any problems identified.
Twelve dentists and therapists made up the Special Smiles team in Bath. There was a range of experience from recently qualified dentists to consultants in Special Care Dentistry. The scheme ran over four days, with training and calibration first, followed by three days of screening.
The screening involved questions about daily oral care and the presence of pain, followed by an oral examination. This enabled the collection of data which is currently being analysed and will contribute to a future research article on patients with intellectual disability. Each athlete was provided with a certificate that highlighted any problems and gave advice about how to improve their oral care. The athlete's coach ensures this information is available to the parent or guardian, so that appropriate action can be taken.
The team screened approximately 500 athletes across the week and gave advice from brushing techniques to dealing with a dry mouth. Undiagnosed caries and periodontal disease was discovered in a number of athletes, coaches and family members, and action plans were produced so that these can now be addressed.
Throughout the Games, two therapists manned a health promotion stall, providing oral hygiene instruction and dietary advice to athletes, coaches and family members. Their hard work helped to increase awareness of the screenings as well as providing many people with excellent advice.
The Games were a fantastic experience for all involved, the enthusiasm and joy expressed by the athletes was unbounded and had a positive effect on the whole team. The talent and passion on show amazed anyone who had the chance to see some of the sporting action, there were plenty of athletes walking around proudly sporting medals. However, the key message that was apparent in all the sports was that the sportsmanship and fun were far more important than whether they were winning or not.
None of this could have been possible without the volunteers who gave up their time to run all aspects of the Games. The incredible dedication of the 600 coaches was also a real inspiration. While conducting screenings, it was evident how compassionate and caring they all were, with a combined role of coach, carer, supporter and friend.
The dental team learnt much about treating patients with intellectual disability and by the Saturday, were exhausted but inspired to do more to increase access to oral care. We encourage everyone to get involved in the Special Olympics in the future.
For more information on the Special Olympics and Healthy Athletes visit specialolympicsgb.org.uk
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