Give Kids A Smile highlights access-to-care issues
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Posted Feb. 12, 2009 |
With dental disease among pre-schoolers on the rise, the ADA is mobilizing dental professionals in a national campaign to extend necessary care to children and adolescents from low-income families.
 On Feb. 6, during the seventh annual Give Kids A Smile program, some 45,000 dental professionals provided free services to more than 450,000 children at more than 1,600 sites nationwide. The ADA News was on hand at several locations throughout the country covering Give Kids A Smile activities on Feb. 6.
Read more about Give Kids A Smile in ADA News Today.
GKAS is the ADA's major oral health outreach program, launched to encourage parents, health professionals and policymakers to address important access to health care issues. GKAS participants will provide educational materials, screenings and, where possible, free dental care such as cleanings, X-rays and fillings.
"There have been enormous advances in dental science in recent years but among America's low-income and minority children, oral health is still a critically unmet health care need," said ADA President John S. Findley. "Though many children will benefit from the services provided through Give Kids A Smile, our concern is for the countless others who continue to suffer from untreated dental disease.
"Oral health is related to overall health and it's important that policymakers strengthen dental provisions in public health programs to help put children on the road to good health," Dr. Findley added.
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