SIU SDM Pitches in with Special Olympics at SIUE’s Korte Stadium

More than 500 Special Olympics athletes from southwestern Illinois competed during the last weekend in April at the annual Spring Games at SIUE’s Korte Stadium. At the same time, approximately 45 Special Olympians took advantage of the Special Smiles program managed by the SIU School of Dental Medicine.

The SIUE Athletics Department partnered with Special Olympics for the fifth-consecutive year, providing volunteers that included nearly 300 student-athletes, coaches and staff members. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) sponsored the event to assist in the costs associated with facility rental and staffing.

Meanwhile, the dental students provided dental screenings and oral health care education for the athletes participating in the games. Dr. Adam Snyder, pediatric dentist (SDM Class of 2007), led a team of 14 Year III students and was assisted by fellow alums and pediatric dentists Dr. Greg Dietz (2007) and Dr. Christy Wohlford (2008).

Dr. Poonam Jain, SDM director of community dentistry, and Snyder had trained the students in performing standardized screenings the previous week. The SDM has participated in the event for more than a decade. Each screened athlete gets an appropriate referral, if necessary, and a goodie bag consisting of a SpinBrush, toothpaste and other oral hygiene products.

Special Smiles is a national program designed to provide dental screenings, patient education and nutritional counseling on site to the athletes competing in one or more Special Olympics events. The athletes visit the Special Smiles Tent with their families and/or coaches prior to or after their individual events. Special Smiles is a part of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Program.

Photo:  Front row (L-R) Mazen Sultan, Patrick Farrow, Joshua Heimerdinger and Megan Oldridge. Back row (L-R) Dr. Christy Wohlford, Dr. Greg Dietz, Dr. Adam Snyder, Kye Mallernee, Carly Joehl, Reesa Mercado, Alexandria Hawkins, Kent Tuneberg, Jillian Bruch, Patrick Murphy, Kristi Schafer, Andrew Hartman and Nick Bishop.