UAFS dental students win top awards

Dental hygiene students from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith took first, second and third place awards during a competition held at a meeting of the Arkansas State Dental Association.

The UAFS students, who were up against seniors from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences program, made four table clinic presentations during the event.

Winners were:
First place: “Alzheimer’s Disease: A Thought to Remember,” presented by Amber Walker of Cedarville, Morgan Farrow of Fort Smith, Jill Teague of Lavaca and Tasha Oden of Van Buren.

Second place:  “Botox Usage in Dentistry,” presented by Kelly Stone of Camden, Alyssa King of Mountain Home, Jessica Darter of Pottsville, and Sarah Clark of Rogers.

Third place: “Omega-3 and Omega-6: Role in Periodontal Disease,” presented by Ashley Hightower of Columbia, Mo., and Hannah Brumley, Billie Clark and Melanie Sanders, all of Fayetteville.

Instructor Pam Davidson of Greenwood said the first place presentation provided insight on the possible relationship of inflammation to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mitzi Efurd of Fort Smith, executive director of the dental hygiene program, said the judges, who were all members of the Arkansas State Dental Association, were impressed with the UAFS projects.
 
“The judges had a hard time deciding and said all of our students’ work was excellent, extremely informative and well done,” said Efurd. “We can be very proud of how well our students competed.”

UAFS offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Dental Hygiene. The Dental Hygiene program, which began in 2000, is located in the Pendergraft Health Sciences Center at UA Fort Smith. A dental clinic is operated as part of the teaching environment and provides dental health services to the public, including exams, cleaning X-rays and fluoride treatment.