Dental hygiene students Jessica McMillan, left, and Jessica Byrd survey a resident at a local assisted-living facility.

Every Labor Day weekend, Georgia Perimeter College Dental Hygiene faculty members Cheri Rainwater and Pam Cushenan and their students attend the NASCAR event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

But they’re not watching the race.  Instead, they’re examining the teeth and mouths of race-going attendees, looking for signs of mouth and neck cancer. The group is part of a regular team of hygienists, dentists and oral surgeons who volunteer at the event. This year they screened more than 300 people.

“More importantly, we educated twice that many people about the signs, symptoms and risks of mouth and throat cancer and how to take care of their oral and laryngeal health,” Rainwater says.

The speedway is just one of the venues where Dental Hygiene students spend their time helping the community.

Last spring, students visited assisted-living homes and senior community centers in Dunwoody and Roswell, where they performed oral screenings as part of a state-wide public health assessment project to provide data on the oral health of metro Atlanta’s older citizens. Cushenan is helping collect data for the pilot study.

“Research shows that chronic periodontal disease can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Cushenan. “We hope by doing this, we give them an incentive to improve their overall health.”

In addition, GPC’s Dental Hygiene students regularly volunteer in clinics and at health fairs and help place sealants on children’s teeth during Georgia SEAL day. This past summer, they also worked with migrant farm workers in south Georgia.