Fairly Odd: Halloween Fun at RSDM, Minus the Candy

Dr. Harry Zohn as the Tooth Fairy (Photo Credit: Nam Hoang)

As expected, there was no candy circulating the halls and clinics at RSDM this Halloween season. But we did have Dr. Harry Zohn in a silvery-white Tooth Fairy costume, complete with a magic molar wand, dancing to Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part I)" and exhorting prospective students here for interviews to do the same.

The school's prelude to Halloween was anything but grim. Zohn, who wore the costume as part of a student fundraiser, also paid a visit to patients in the clinic. Earlier in the week, the pediatric clinic was filled with student doctors, faculty and staffers dressed as cowboys, commandos, medieval princesses and “Scarface” hero Tony Montanna.

"It lightens up the feel of dental school for patients,'' said Zohn. "People are nervous and they don't know what to expect from a dental school clinic, but hopefully, this puts them at ease."

The RSDM fall and Halloween festivities were also a reminder that the spirit of Halloween encompasses more than cavity-inducing sweets. "This shows that dentists are people too, and we like to have fun. And treats don't have to be candy. They can be stickers and toothbrushes,'' said Zohn.

Zohn's Tooth Fairy transformation was the culmination of a month-long student fundraiser for the American Association of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry speaker series. Five professors were candidates in a competition to see who received the most donations in collection jars set up for each. The winner agreed to wear the fairy costume, designed by Auria Alvarado, pre-clinic dispensary clerk, with help from Maritza Camacho, program assistant in the Office of Student Affairs. The fundraising campaign garnered $500.

There were other tricks and surprises.

The winner of the Fall Fest pumpkin-painting competition. The winner of the Fall Fest pumpkin-painting competition.

 

RSDM's  annual Fall Fest featured a pumpkin-painting competition between teams of first and second-year students from each of our four “houses,’’ groups that socialize and study together.

The winner was Gaia House, with its chillingly detailed portrait of Frankenstien. Honroable mention went to the House of Prometheus' Smurf pumpkin, a reference to the “Smurf blue” color of first-year students' scrubs.

Staff and students at the pediatric clinic weren' quite themselves on Wednesday. Staff and students at the pediatric clinic weren't quite themselves on Wednesday.