BRADENTON -- Manatee Technical Institute’s Farmworker Education and Services Program will host the Passport to Wellness Dental Project in partnership with MTI’s Dental Assisting Program at the MTI East Campus in Lakewood Ranch on November 15. Schoolchildren enrolled in the School District of Manatee County Migrant Program are set to receive dental care at one of two Passport to Wellness events being sponsored by Tropicana Products Inc. this year.
The Passport to Wellness Dental Project serves school-age migrant children, who have limited access to routine dental care, providing free treatments, as well as courtesy transportation provided by Tropicana.
MTI Dental Assisting students will provide pediatric teeth polishing, fluoride treatments, radiographs, and oral health screening. The students will be under the direct supervision of local dentists who will volunteer their services.
The MTI students are active in HOSA, SkillsUSA, and the MTI Student Chapter of the American Dental Assistants Association. The Passport to Wellness Dental Project is a community-service/service-learning project for these students.
The project is a joint effort of Manatee Tech and the School District of Manatee County Nurses and Migrant Program, much like the We Care Project that offers dental services to schoolchildren in need, only focusing specifically on migrant children. Both projects rely on local dentists and hygienists performing their work pro bono.
The event will take place at the MTI East Campus in Lakewood Ranch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 15. MTI’s East Campus is located at 5520 Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Bradenton.