We were super fortunate to have some awesome guest scholars at the March meeting of the Ladder: students from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry!

University of Minnesota dentistry students overseeing Ladder scholars making dental impressions

After making use of our mouths to eat lunch and introduce ourselves to one another, our dentistry guest scholars taught us about the importance of dental health and demonstrated a variety of ways to keep our mouths healthy.

Medical Scholar Halima bravely demonstrates using dye on teeth to observe areas where plaque is concentrated that may need a little extra brushing:

Using dye to observe plaque

Medical scholars Ashawna and Stephen pose with the coffee/tea/soda-soaked shell-on eggs they’ve been brushing with toothbrushes and toothpaste as a demonstration of how stains on teeth can be decreased or even prevented (to some degree) by being a dedicated teeth-brusher:

Medical scholars brushing stained “teeth” (eggs!)

Our medical scholars each had the opportunity to make dental impressions using models of teeth sets, Jeltrate (a mix that includes alginate, a sort of jelly/gel type substance found in seaweed), metal impression plates, and water. A close-up view of the (awesomely messy) undertaking of making dental impressions:

Making an impression!

Our dentistry scholars not only taught us a lot about dental health, but they provided us a lot of fun in the process.

You too can be a part of the learning and fun every month at The Ladder – a Society of Medical Scholars ages 9 to 99. Meetings are the second Saturday of every month and open to anyone and everyone. You’ll have a lot of fun, get a free lunch, and probably even learn something in the process! The next meeting is April 12th at the UROC building (2001 Plymouth Ave N) in North Minneapolis.

“Lift as you Climb, Build as you Grow”