Click here to enlarge imageThe products and services contributed by Henry Schein and its supplier partners, along with Colgate-Palmolive and DEXIS®, two other primary sponsors of Give Kids A Smile, enabled dentists and dental team members to provide free oral healthcare to children from low-income families.
About Give Kids A Smile
The ADA created Give Kids A Smile as an annual vehicle to focus national attention on what the U.S. Surgeon General has called a “silent epidemic” of oral disease affecting children from low-income families, and to build support for public and private solutions that will help these children get regular oral health care. As noted in the Surgeon General’s 2000 report, Oral Health in America, dental decay is the most common disease affecting children in the U.S., occurring at five times the rate of asthma and seven times that of hay fever. Millions of children suffer from untreated, easily preventable oral diseases that affect overall health, including speech, eating patterns and the ability to concentrate in school.
As part of Give Kids A Smile Day, dentists and dental team members around the country are providing a range of dental services and educational programs for underserved children, while highlighting for policy makers the ongoing challenges that low-income and disabled children face in accessing dental care. Today’s events include in-school brushing demonstrations, community screening and treatment programs, and free private dental care.