Special Smiles for Special Olympics Athletes

In June, residents from the college’s General Practice Residency (GPR) program were joined by students and attending faculty at the college’s annual Special Smiles event. Held during the Special Olympics on Ohio State’s main campus, the volunteers provided oral screenings and preventative oral care instructions to the participating athletes. James Cottle ’81 DDS, director of the college’s Office of Community Education, joined Stephen Beetstra, DDS, MHSA, dental director of Ohio State’s Nisonger Center, and Mark Wenzel, ’87 DDS, director of the GPR program, as an attending faculty member. “Special Olympics/Special Smiles was a tremendous success this year thanks to the many dental students, dental hygiene students and all of the GPR residents who volunteered their time to help provide oral screenings for the athletes,” Dr. Cottle said. “It was a wonderfully rewarding day for everyone.”

Many of the students who participated in the event were part of a relatively new student organization, Special Care Dentistry, which was formed by Nathan Gutarts ’24 (DDS) and other dental students to help advocate for oral healthcare needs in the special needs population. “I think all of the students and faculty who volunteered would agree that this experience was extremely gratifying and heartwarming,” Gutarts said.

Partnering with Drs. Beetstra and Cottle, Beth Chartier, RDH, MPH, assistant professor-clinical in the Division of Dental Hygiene, became involved with the Special Smiles event when she joined Ohio State in 2019. “I have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Drs. Beetstra and Cottle in making this such a meaningful and successful event for the College of Dentistry and the Special Olympics athletes in Ohio,” she said. “I truly appreciate the effort that the GPR residents contributed to the event. They worked very hard at providing screenings to hundreds of athletes, and we couldn’t have done it without them. And I am especially proud of our dental and dental hygiene students who graciously gave up their Saturday to give back to this extraordinary population. Their enthusiasm and commitment was truly infectious!”