Posted by: Maplewood Dental Arts in News
MDA’s Commitment to Community Outreach and Community Service
Maplewood Dental Arts is a proud member of the Gorham area community! We are serious about not only providing our patients with the best quality oral health care available, but also to giving back to the community of which we are a part. In 2022, we are increasing our commitment to our community outreach and service efforts. These efforts take an amazing team and we are so proud of the MDA team’s community outreach and community service achievements so far this year!
MDA Community Outreach
MDA is always glad for the opportunity to go out into our community and host outreach events! This past year, members of the MDA team have visited childcare centers, addiction treatment centers, and assisted living facilities to spread our message of the importance of good oral health!
Visiting childcare centers in our community is a great way for us to talk to kids about establishing a healthy oral care routine early in life. This past year, MBA team members visited two childcare centers, The
Land of Nod in Windham and The Toddle Inn in Gorham, for some fun, games and dental education!
Not surprisingly, we can best ensure our message about the importance of brushing right and eating good foods is heard when we can engage kids with some our very own dental games. At The Land of Nod, MDA hygienists Paige, Nikki and Ali played sorting games like What is Good Food for Your Teeth? (hint: it’s not cake) and Brush an Egg, which helps kids practice their brushing skills using eggs! We end each fun visit with a dental goodie bag for each kid to take home which makes our visit kind of like a very educational party!
Our message to our young-at-heart neighbors when we visit is the importance of knowing the connection between dental health and overall health. At recent visits to the Inn at Village Square and Recovery Maine, the MDA team enjoyed the time they spent with residents talking about how staying healthy is important not just to your body but also to your teeth and gums. As people do not always realize the health risks posed by poor oral health, our dental health/ overall health message can be very enlightening to this part of our community. And like our childcare visits, we end our time together with a goodie bag!
MDA Community Service
One of our efforts to extend a helping hand to organizations which serve our community is a project we are calling “Giving Back in 2022.” On each of our MDA team’s birthdays, the team member is asked to choose a charity that is important to them. MDA makes a starter donation to that charity and we then use our social media presence to encourage others to donate as well!
So far in 2022, our kind-hearted team members have chosen some very worthy charities to support, including the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, The Maine Animal Welfare Society, the American Heart Association, and HART (Homeless Animal Rescue Team) Maine, which runs an adoption center and shelter for homeless cats. We are proud to be able to donate to these organizations who work so hard to help and improve our community.
In May, we sponsored an MDA team to take part in the American Heart Association’s Maine Heart Walk. The annual Heart Walk was a great opportunity for our team to raise awareness of the dangers of heart disease, which affects millions of Americans each year. The MDA team was able to raise more than $1,600 in donations and had a great, if rainy, day participating in the Walk itself.
In 2022, we look forward to continuing to not only providing our patients with the best quality oral health care, but also continuing to support our community through outreach and service. We hope you will join us in our efforts to give back to the Gorham community!