UCSF Successfully Hosted Give Kids a Smile Day 2010
University of California San Francisco Dental School successfully hosted annual Give Kids a Smile Day event on February 6th. More than 100 student volunteers and nearly twenty faculty accompanied by more than thirty pre-dental student volunteers assisting with check-in, information tables and games for young patients.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month initiated and sponsored by American Dental Association. The main goal of it is to improve oral health of children by providing education on proper dental hygiene techniques and good dental health.
Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) is a main event of Dental Health Month and was designed to provide free preventative and restorative dental services to low-income children who do not have access to care.
University of California San Francisco Dental School successfully hosted annual Give Kids a Smile Day event on February 6th. More than 100 student volunteers and nearly twenty faculty accompanied by more than thirty pre-dental student volunteers assisting with check-in, information tables and games for young patients.
“Free dental care was given to 136 children from low income families”, said to WorlDental.org Dr. Nate Gerodias, Assistant Clinical Professor of UCSF’s division of Pediatric Dentistry, “Most of the children received fluoride varnish treatments and sealants as well”.
Volunteers provided free dental services, which involved dental sealants, fluoride treatment, free toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, screenings and educational materials.
All that will give undeserved children with no access to insurance or dental care the chance to learn about taking care of their teeth and avoiding dental caries (tooth decay).
“Dental caries is a preventable infectious disease which can result in pain as well as systemic infection which in turn affects quality of life for children”, explained Dr. Gerodias. “Way too often I have seen children come in for their first dental appointment which involved an extraction of an abscessed tooth”, added he.
Dental care is important to ensure the proper dental development as well as overall development of a child into an adult.
Dr. Gerodias said, the opportunity to provide a health care service and for a brief moment not having to think about the financial portion of the appointment, is a thing he liked most of all.
All patients of GKAS day were given a referral sheet with a list of contact numbers to become a patient of not only UCSF but other local community clinics. In general, UCSF Dental Center has no free clinic, but offers high quality work at competitive prices.
To be informed of the various UCSF dental clinics, services and treatments available, and to become a patient visit UCSF patients page.
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Categories: Dentists, Free Dental Work
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