UTHealth Houston students bring oral health education to local schools with Little Smiles Club

The Little Smiles Club student leadership consists of (from left) Vice President Naseem Azadi, President Matthew Khuu, Secretary Armig Kalustian, Treasurer Ali Oufi, and D1 Representative Claire Tran. (Photo by Kyle Rogers).

A student-led initiative at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry is focusing its efforts on delivering oral health education to children in nearby schools. Founded in the fall 2025 semester by a small group of second-year dental students, Little Smiles Club brings dental and dental hygiene students together to teach oral health and nutrition to local elementary school children in underserved areas of Houston through interactive lessons.

“We want to go into elementary schools and teach children about oral health and nutrition in a fun and engaging way,” said Matthew Khuu, who serves as the club’s president. “A lot of these kids have never seen a dentist, so we want their first impression of dental care to be positive and welcoming.”

The group partners directly with Communities in Schools Houston, which helps connect volunteers to the campuses where support is most needed.

The idea for the club grew out of students’ experiences in the first-year Introduction to Population Health course taught by Ana Neumann, DDS, MPH, PhD, director of dental public health, who serves as the organization’s faculty sponsor. Neumann also holds the Gene C. Stevenson Distinguished Professorship in Dental Education. 

After participating in the course’s elementary school rotation and drawing from similar outreach programs many completed as undergraduates, students saw an opportunity to build a dedicated volunteer group focused on prevention.

“We loved that part of the class, and there’s not an organization at the dental school that focuses on in-person oral health education at these schools,” said Naseem Azadi, vice president. “With the combination of what Dr. Neumann oversaw during our first year and our past experiences in college, we felt the need to turn the idea of a club into a reality.”

A significant portion of the club’s work takes place before volunteers arrive on campus. Members meet in advance to review the lesson plan, organize materials, and familiarize themselves with the content they will be teaching. When the group reaches the school, students dress in themed costumes and then divide into classrooms, with four to five volunteers assigned to each room.

“All the habits you build in childhood follow you into adulthood,” said Armig Kalustian, secretary. “If we can target habits that contribute to things like diabetes and periodontal disease and make sure that kids have accessible information, you prevent a lot of hardships later on in life.”

Building on that focus, volunteers lead small-group lessons supported by games, demonstrations, and activities including a popular marshmallow fluff activity and flossing demos during each school visit. Participants complete a brief pre- and post-assessment so the club can measure learning gains.

The assessments include four categories of oral health including hygiene, dental safety, dental visits, and nutrition.

“We’ve seen a lot of improvement in their scores, which shows that what we’re doing is making a meaningful impact,” Khuu said.

Now with 71 members, the club continues to expand both its reach and resources. This spring, Little Smiles Club plans to distribute full hygiene kits for the children and their families including toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, hand sanitizers, and soap. The group hopes to provide additional support by providing dental hygiene books for school libraries.

With growing momentum and a prevention-focused mission, Little Smiles Club is quickly becoming a standout force for community engagement at the School of Dentistry.

Dental students and dental hygiene students are encouraged to become members of Little Smiles Club by contacting an organizational officer and attending an introductory meeting.