Many high school students view trips to the dentist office about the same way they feel about writing 400-word essays for their English classes.

On Friday, though, a group of 15 students from across the county left school early to visit the Van Buren/Cass District Health Department dental clinic in Dowagiac — and they did not need a slip from their parents to do so. Instead of getting their teeth cleaned or cavities filled, the group of students — hailing Dowagiac, Cassopolis and Edwardsburg schools — received hands-on instruction from specialists working at the downtown clinic, learning more the skills needed to succeed in the oral health industry.

The students started the morning divided into two groups, one touring the clinic upstairs with another learning more about the dental industry from one of several professionals in the downstairs conference room. After swapping, the students joined together again upstairs, where several clinic workers demonstrated dental x-rays and impressions on patients, with several students hopping on the exam chair to serve as “test subjects” for their peers.

“The students all left saying they learned something new,” said Mikki Spagnoli, the director of Lewis Cass ISD’s job education program.

Educators with the Lewis Cass ISD and Southwestern Michigan College’s Educational Talent Search program organized Friday’s visit, in coordination with employees with the health department and the Michigan Area Health Education Center, a public healthcare support organization. It was the first time that either local education program had worked with the clinic, Spagnoli said.

Spagnoli and Kim Luthringer, director of the SMC ETS program, worked together to spread the word about Cass County schools to encourage sign-ups for the visit. Every one of the students who participated Friday has shown interest in pursuing a job in oral health after schooling, be it as a dentist, dental assistant or hygienist, Spagnoli said.

The ISD and ETS program have additional field trips lined up in the coming months, including one focused on careers in nursing in the spring and another in environmental health later in the school year, Spagnoli said. Spagnoli also said she is looking to make the dental clinic visit an annual event for students.

With opportunities for job shadowing becoming harder to come by for students, the new collaboration between the ISD, SMC and health department is critical to help open doors for students interested in the field, Spagnoli said.

“I think students do not understand the vast arrays of services and careers available to them in public health,” she said. “Taking them to places in the community like the dental clinic is a good way to get them to start thinking about public health as a future career pathway.”