Roseman Dental and Roseman University College of Dental Medicine are proud to partner with the American Dental Association to provide free dental screenings and cleanings to qualifying children ages 18 and under as part of the national Give Kids a Smile® program. Roseman’s event will be held on Friday, May 6 from 9 am to 4 pm. Children 18 and under receive a voucher to return for a FREE dental screenings, cleanings, and fluoride varnish application, and $100 towards additional care.
The Give Kids a Smile® program was launched nationally by the American Dental Association in 2003 and since its inception more than 6 million underserved children have received free oral health services. This program was initially a one-day event in February and has grown to include national and local events year-round.
The program was created in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of oral healthcare and to help stop the spread of untreated dental decay. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children miss over 51 million hours of school because of tooth pain and other oral health issues. It is estimated that as many as 17 million children suffer from untreated tooth decay, making it the single most common chronic childhood disease in the U.S.
According to the CDC, about 1 of 5 (20 percent) children aged 5 to 11 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth, 1 of 7 (13 percent) adolescents aged 12 to 19 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth, and children aged 5 to 19 years from low-income families are twice as likely (25 percent) to have cavities, compared with children from higher-income households (11 percent).
These statistics can be lowered, especially with the assistance from Roseman’s Give Kids a Smile® event. Children’s oral health is an important and often overlooked component of overall health and well-being. Here at Roseman, compassion and empathy have long been intertwined with delivering exceptional healthcare to the communities we serve.