Dental and Dental Hygiene students from several student-led organizations, along with Dental Hygiene faculty, brought big smiles to little faces during this year’s Boo at the Zoo event at the Kansas City Zoo.

Children had the chance to show off their brushing skills using oral hygiene puppets, guided by future dental professionals.

“It is always a delight to see the interactions between the children and their future dental healthcare providers,” said Prof. Tamra Hoffman, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Oral Radiology, Pathology, and Medicine, and one of the event coordinators. “The students enjoy the playful interactions they get to have with the trick-or-treaters as they demonstrate their brushing skills.”

Instead of candy, children received fun vampire fangs to keep the spooky spirit alive—while guests learned about opportunities to find a dental home at the UMKC School of Dentistry.

This community outreach began in 2019 when the UMKC Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha – Dental Hygiene National Honor Society launched the Boo at the Zoo service project. What started as a simple idea to promote oral health during a festive fall event has now become a beloved annual tradition that continues to grow each year.

This year’s volunteers included:

Amrutha Babu
Kylie Nichols
Katherine Vejil
Alena Pettieway
Alexis Head
Giovanna Caime
Chloe Philhour
Gianna Cusumano
Brielle Redinger
Ashley Chun
Ashleen Toor
Grace Ipsen
Abby Hecker
Isabella Cannon
Cheyanne Poterbin
Caden Wehner
Asmaa Hassan
Catherine Holt
Rebecca Kessler
Priya Vanmali
Nora Stith
Danny Pham
Emma Payne
Isabella Bamnolker
Alexis Head
Giovanna Caime
Jennifer Brown