On February 4, 2011, an estimated 30 children from local low-income families will receive free dental services ranging from exams and X-rays to fillings and sealants as part of national Give Kids A Smile® day. This will be the 6th year that the Douglas County Dental Clinic takes part in this national event.

Douglas County Dental Clinic Staff by abcd

Last year, more than 44,650 dental team members nationwide participated in Give Kids A Smile®, a program first held in 2003 by the American Dental Association (ADA) to provide care and raise awareness of the importance of access to dental care for poor children.

“It’s heartbreaking to see a child’s smile destroyed by severe tooth decay,” said Raymond Muñoz, Access to Baby and Child Dentistry coordinator at the Douglas County Dental Clinic. “Imagine not being able to eat, sleep and pay attention in school because you have a mouthful of toothaches. Some children have reached the point where the only alternative is a mouth full of crowns or pulling the teeth that can’t be saved. It’s tragic. Our country needs to do more to help children get the dental care they need.”

Nearly 1 in 4 children, aged 2 to 11 years, has untreated cavities in their baby teeth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While poor diet and oral hygiene certainly play a role, cavities are actually caused by a disease called caries, which is five times more common than asthma.

The National Institutes of Health report that 80 percent of tooth decay is found in just 25 percent of children, primarily from low-income families.

“Children’s oral health is everyone’s business—not just dentists. We need to participate as a community and as a nation. We need to solve this problem, Mr. Muñoz said. “It won’t happen overnight. But if enough people start working on it, it will happen.”

Access To Baby And Child Dentistry by abcd

In order to qualify for free services on Give Kids A Smile® day, the child must live in Douglas County, household income must be at 200% of federal poverty levels or below, and the child can not have dental insurance (including Healthwave or other state insurance). Appointments for these free services will be on a first come first served basis, and we will begin setting appointments on January 17, 2011 and all appointments must be set by Friday January 28, 2011. A parent or guardian must accompany patients in order for the clinic to offer its services.

The Douglas County Dental Clinic is a non-profit community clinic serving the residents of Douglas County, Kansas. The mission of the Douglas County Dental Clinic is to provide quality dental care to low income and uninsured residents of Douglas County, Kansas. The clinic is located at 316 Maine St. right across the street from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Please give us a call at 785-312-7770 for more information about scheduling an appointment.

Give Kids A Smile® would not be possible without the generous support of our corporate sponsors, who provided more than $2.8 million in products and services for the 2010 event. Visit the Give Kids A Smile home page at http://givekidsasmile.ada.org for information regarding our 2011 sponsors, Colgate-Palmolive, Henry Schein Dental, and DEXIS Digital X-ray.