玛西拉·阿诺德（Macila Arnold）知道，作为堪萨斯大学牙科卫生专业的学生，这是不寻常的一天。 First off, the day started at the Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium.
“We came in to work on some swamp monkeys,” Arnold said.
“We got to watch the doctors do their annual visits, do the physical with swamp monkeys and then we got to scale and clean their teeth, and polish them up, just like we would with our human patients.”
阿诺德正在利用威尼斯人娱乐城牙科学院的机会。 通过与堪萨斯城动物园和水族馆的合作，口腔卫生项目为学生提供动物园实习。
每年春季学期，像阿诺德这样的口腔卫生大四学生，和她的同学西德尼·丹尼斯一起，花时间给动物园里各种动物清洁牙齿。
“The experience has been very unique. I know it’s something that I’m never going to forget,” Dennis said.
The collaborative partnership between the 牙科学院 and the Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium started in 1994. Dr. Wm Kirk Suedmeyer, the Zoo’s director of animal health and conservation research, sees great value in the expertise the students provide.
“It really helps, and they do a good job providing good dental hygiene for our animals,” Suedmeyer said.
威尼斯人娱乐城牙科学院为学生提供堪萨斯城大都市区及其他地区的各种临床经验。
“We have different rotations here at the 牙科学院: We go out to local elementary schools to give fluoride and sealants and do all kinds of screenings with them,” Dennis said. “There’s a lot of real-world opportunities at the 牙科学院.”
Originally from Springfield, Missouri, Dennis appreciates how much of Kansas City she’s seen through her rotations.
“Being able to get involved in the community through hygiene has been just so much fun,” she said. “I’ve loved my experience here in Kansas City.”
在社区的所有时间帮助阿诺德找到了她在牙科领域的公共卫生利基。
“堪萨斯城绝对是我们的教室，让我们有机会走出牙科学院，只关注我们的病人。 我们走出去，做轮换，我们走出去，与不同的人群一起工作。” —
“I feel like having that exposure and getting to work in the Kansas City area has helped me find my own passion within dental hygiene.” 