Improving access to dental care for economically disadvantaged children will be the focus of “Give Kids A Smile” day on Friday, February 2.
The program, in its fifth year, kicks off Children’s Dental Health Month and is an initiative of the American Dental Association (ADA) that will reach an estimated 750,000 children from across the country with free oral health education and dental services provided by more than 50,000 volunteer dental professionals.
In New York, members of the New York State Dental Association will hold events in their communities at more than 50 locations statewide.
“We applaud the volunteers and corporate sponsors who give so much back to their communities on this day,” said Dr. Steven Gounardes, a Brooklyn dentist and president of the New York State Dental Association. “One day of care is not the solution though, and our goal on February 2 will be to make a statement to parents, government decision-makers and to health professionals so that they become more aware of the epidemic of untreated oral disease among underserved children in their communities.”
Dr. Gounardes notes that caries, the chronic infectious disease that causes cavities, remains second only to the common cold in terms of prevalence in children. “But unlike a cold, untreated tooth decay won’t heal. In fact, it often gets worse,” adds Dr. Gounardes.
“Give Kids A Smile is not a cure-all, but a wake-up call that our children need a better ongoing health care system that addresses their dental health needs,” says Dr. Kathleen Roth, president of the American Dental Association.
The ADA recommends that children see a dentist no later than their first birthday, yet only three out of five children have seen a dentist before kindergarten. By then, over half (52 percent) of 6-8 year olds have tooth decay, according to the Healthy People 2000 oral health report. Pain from untreated dental disease makes it difficult for children to eat, sleep and pay attention in school, and it negatively affects their self-esteem.
Give Kids A Smile events across the country range from large-scale dental clinics providing free cleanings, fluoride treatments and fillings to groups of dentists providing care to underserved children in their private practices, to individual dentists giving education and screening programs in a variety of locations.