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Dentures

Dr. Walter Fonfara shows a plastic model of teeth to Troop 21 Scout Damien-Michael Jacques, of Putnam, during the Putnam troop’s recent visit to the dentist’s office in Plainfield. Photo by John D. Ryan.

 

 

PLAINFIELD — Dentistry is a subject a Scout can sink his teeth into. The Scouts from Troop 21 in Putnam should know: they’re working on Dentistry Merit Badge. As part of the program they visited Dr. Walter D. Fonfara’s office in Plainfield, where they learned from the dentist and his staff what dentists do, how to fill cavities and make plaster molds of teeth.

“It’s great to have these young men visit,” Fonfara said. “It’s wonderful to see how interested they were. I hope we sparked some interest in dentistry, or at least made them feel better about going to the dentist.”

Dentistry is just one of 134 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. “The idea behind the merit badge program is to introduce Scouts to an expert, such as a dentist in this case, to teach and demonstrate specialized skills that boys might not otherwise be exposed to,” said Troop 21 Scoutmaster Peter A. Lombardo, of Putnam.

Over the last year, dentistry was just one of more than a dozen merit badges Troop 21 Scouts have worked on, including fingerprinting, shotgun shooting, swimming, electronics, engineering, chemistry, camping and fishing, among others.