 |
|
|
|
Community Involvement: Give Kids A Smile
| Children’s Dental Access Program® |  ® |
|
| Each year on the first Friday in February, thousands of the nation’s dentists and their dental team members provide free oral health care services to children from low-income families across the country. The Give Kids a Smile program enhances the oral health of large numbers of needy children between the ages of 6 and 18. The anchor for a successful GKAS service is the initial screening and diagnosis of dental needs. Some of the state’s technical college programs have offered initial screenings and cleaning days that allow the GKAS team to then direct patients into offices for restorative care. Frequently the evaluations occur in mid-January. Other screening sites have been associated with private offices and selected event facilities. Ideally, children will receive preventive care, cleaning and a treatment plan. Many offices have assigned a single day for the GKAS children; others elect to integrate the patients into their regular schedule. Some dentists invite other dentists to join them and have a clinic day on a Friday. Whatever works best for the volunteering dental office goes. This year SCDA will provide an online form on the SCDA website to enroll eligible patients statewide for care. Submitted requests will then be sent to a regional office manager who will contact clinic locations with a list of eligible patients. The official GKAS day is February 3, 2012. However, it is the intent of the program to provide as much care as possible to eligible children. Please look at your calendar and commit to volunteering for Give Kids A Smile. The South Carolina Dental Assistants Association fully supports this wonderful initiative. If your practice is not seeing patients for this worthy cause and you still would like to volunteer, please contact Dr. Phil Smith at 803-359-9991, or Christy Meador at SCDA (meadorc@scda.org) for more information. Volunteers will be needed in multiple offices around the state so please consider giving the gift of your time! |
| Home| About Us | Resources | Professional Development | Community Involvement | Members Only | Calendar |
|
