Volunteers from the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry recently served children and families at two popular Bay Area events.

The school cohosted an oral health outreach table at the 32nd Annual Pistahan Parade and Festival, the largest celebration of Filipino art and culture in the United States. The festival was held Aug. 9 and 10 at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. Volunteers included leaders from the school’s Student Community Outreach for Public Education (SCOPE) program, Pusong Pacific — a Filipino student club — and UCSF's Filipino Dental Student Coalition.

“I felt truly rewarded to interact with our local Filipino community in San Francisco. Many of our current and former patients came up to our table thanking us for our service, which makes my time in dental school feel all the more worth it!” said Tyler Villar, DDS 2026, Pusong Pacific’s president.

Also that weekend, volunteers from the Pediatric Dentistry Study Club and Pediatric Dentistry Clinic participated in the annual back-to-school resource fair for the Hayward Unified School District. 

"I really enjoyed working with my classmates to share oral health tips with kids and parents. Seeing the kids excited to practice on the typodonts and explore the nutrition models made the experience both meaningful and fun," said Claudia Wang, DDS 2026.

Backpacks, school supplies and health resources were given to children and families, who also enjoyed fun activities such as music, free haircuts, a car exhibition and more.

“Participating in community health service and directing peer engagement has been a highlight of my time at Dugoni,” said Brendon Lowder, DDS 2026.

Volunteers also provided oral health information, gave demonstrations and answered questions about Dugoni School's pediatric dentistry clinic.

Students and faculty will be serving the local community at other outreach events this fall, including the Chinatown Community Health Fair, Saturday, October 11 at the YMCA and Give Veterans A Smile events on Monday, November 10 at the Dugoni School in San Francisco and the Pacific Health Care Collaborative in Sacramento. Further away, nearly 50 of Dugoni's dental students are looking forward to traveling for the Jamaica Global Service Learning trip at the end of September.