Winning Smiles at the Special Olympics

RSDM students at the Special Olympics Summer Games.

For more than a decade, RSDM faculty and students have been helping Special Olympics athletes learn how to take care of their teeth and gums.

They were back again this year at the Special Olympics Summer Games, held this month at the College of New Jersey.

The volunteer work was part of the national Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program. The RSDM team provided free dental screenings and taught participants about brushing, flossing and eating well.

For many with intellectual disabilities, proper dental care is scarce. But at RSDM, caring for special needs patients is an everyday mission. It has one of the few clinics in the region that specifically treats patients with disabilities, including Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and Alzheimer's.  All RSDM students do rotations at the school's Delta Dental Of New Jersey Special Care Clinic.