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Hundreds of East Valley Children Receive Free Dental Care at the ASDOH Dental Clinic With Give Kids a Smile® Program |
Recent reports indicate 31 percent of Arizona’s children have never seen a dentist, and 38 percent do not have dental insurance – numbers that are likely growing due to the current economic downturn.
To help address the problem, A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) and the Arizona Dental Foundation (ADF) teamed up April 17 to bring 216 underserved elementary school children from the Mesa Public School District to the ASDOH Dental Clinic in Mesa to receive free dental care as part of the Give Kids a Smile® program. This is the fourth consecutive year that ATSU-ASDOH and the ADF have collaborated on the event.
From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., 75 ASDOH student doctors and 29 volunteer dentists provided basic dental services to children including cleanings, fillings, dental education, and more complex procedures, all at no charge. There were a total of 328 volunteers helping with the event. In addition to dental care, kids enjoyed costumed entertainment and organized games, including an inflatable T-ball game and free t-shirts provided by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Give Kids a Smile® participants needing more comprehensive follow-up care will have an opportunity to receive it at ASDOH’s dental clinics thanks to a fundraiser with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Money raised from ticket sales to the Diamondbacks’ September 26 game against the San Diego Padres will help pay for children to visit one of ASDOH’s two dental clinics for necessary dental treatment. For information on purchasing tickets, please visit http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/ari/ticketing/smile.jsp.
Give Kids a Smile® on the A.T. Still University Campus is organized and executed by ASDOH students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of ADF, who recruit volunteer dentists from the Arizona Dental Association to help provide services. According to Ginger Froncek, executive director of the ADF, the April event at ATSU-ASDOH is the single largest Give Kids a Smile® program in the state in the number of children treated, value of services provided, and volunteer participation.
“Give Kids a Smile® is a way that [ASDOH dental students] can focus on an underserved population right in our community and provide awareness and care to help treat the most prevalent disease process in children, dental caries (cavities),” said third year ASDOH student Erik Smith, chair of the ASDOH Give Kids a Smile® committee.
“ASDOH is delighted to be a major sponsor of Give Kids a Smile®, providing free dental care to some of the Valley’s most vulnerable children. Our faculty and students alike thoroughly enjoy meeting and caring for these children and their families,” said ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, D.D.S., M.P.H.
Give Kids a Smile® was established by the Greater St. Louis Dental Society in February, 2002, when a group of dentists set up a temporary full-service clinic that treated nearly 400 children over two days. With the support of the American Dental Association, the program has grown to approximately 1,900 locations and treatment of 480,000 children in 2008.
