Kids to Receive Free Dental Care from Traveling Dental Clinic

Ever since its startup in September 2010, the free HANDS Pediatric Clinic has offered free dental services to more than 3,000 school aged children in St. Lucie County.

The free mobile dental clinic basically is equipped to do more simple procedures such as pediatric dental cleaning and other minor services.

However, the clinic does have a permanent location at the Garden City Early Learning Academy in Fort Pierce, which is an office of 900 square feet.

Since its opening, the free mobile clinic has visited around 40 schools and plenty of school camps in the St. Lucie County. According to dental hygienist Ervin Valcin, several of the kids they have consulted struggled with severe abscesses or infections. She also relates of a sad happening, when a child had to undergo dental surgery because approximately 14 teeth were severely decayed.

After the children are being treated, they are also being offered proper follow up care services. HANDS clinic also helps parents finding the necessary payments for these follow up visits, through the insurance programs that are available.

The follow up visits and treatments are extremely important, especially after a child undergoes surgery when the risk for developing complications and infections is quite high.

One parent from St. Lucie, Jessica Jernigan relates how surprised she was when Valcin has found 2 cavities in the mouth of her 5-year old daughter. The mother says they eat extremely healthy at home, they do not consume too much sugar, and this is why the finding of these cavities came as a shock.

However, the clinic offered her daughter the treatment and everything is all right now. Often times, parents believe that if they do not offer their children sweets, and if they are on a healthy diet, that will protect the kids from caries formation.

However, besides respecting a rigorous dental regimen by brushing twice a day, children must also be taken for regular checkups to the dentist at least twice a year.

Moreover, proper dental health is extremely important for a child, because they cannot focus on learning and other every day tasks if they have to put up even with the slightest amount of pain.