WILLMAR - Rice Regional Dental Clinic at Rice Memorial Hospital will join dental professionals across the country for the American Dental Association's 15th annual "Give Kids a Smile" day.
The one-day event is Feb. 3 and provides free dental services to children whose families face barriers to dental care. Services include free oral screenings by a local volunteer dentist, cleanings, fluoride varnishes, sealants, oral hygiene instruction, and family dental education.
Appointments are being accepted between 1 and 4 p.m. Feb. 3. Qualifying individuals (low-income children ages 0-17 who are not currently patients at another dental office) may call Rice Regional Dental Clinic at 320-214-2620.
This is the seventh year that Rice Regional Dental Clinic has participated in Give Kids a Smile. Last year, 32 local volunteers helped with the one-day event, including local dentists, hygienists, assistants, students from the University of Minnesota, office personnel, and area public health nurses. Community business support is also an integral part of the event.
In 2016, volunteers at Rice Regional Dental Clinic treated 43 children and provided 176 procedures. Many were teenagers who had never been to a dentist before. The volunteers also met with parents, instructing them on proper oral hygiene, healthy dietary choices, benefits of fluoridated water for their children's teeth, and need for regular dental check-ups.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We want to help families experience a caring dental visit and learn about the connection of oral health to overall health," Dr. Linda Jackson, director of Rice Regional Dental Clinic, said in a news release. "Prevention of early cavities and oral disease will produce positive outcomes for life."
According to the American Dental Association, more than 181 million Americans won't visit a dentist this year, even though nearly half of people over 30 suffer from some form of gum disease. Nearly one in four children under 5 already has cavities and 10 million children ages 2 through 18 had no dental insurance in 2011
Give Kids A Smile is held annually to provide free, easily accessible dental services for children from qualifying families and raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease occurring both locally and nationally. It also has a goal of creating local public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care, as well as teaching parents the importance of establishing a dental home for their child within six months of their first tooth.
