Press Release
North Carolina Dental Society
CARY, NC – Dental volunteers across North Carolina are gearing up for the 13th annual Give Kids A Smile! program that delivers free dental care for children in need. In all, clinics will be held in 38 counties around the state (See listing and local media contacts below).
“Give Kids A Smile!” is the annual centerpiece to National Children’s Dental Health Month. Dentists and dental teams will provide free oral health care services to low-income children across the country. Patients have been prescreened and scheduled for care.
While many of the Give Kids A Smile! events will be held on Friday, February 7, others will be staged throughout the month of February. Many clinics will provide exams, cleanings, fluoride, sealants for these kids and will also send them away with toothbrushes and toothpaste so they can continue to take care of their teeth at home.
The North Carolina Dental Society and its thousands of volunteers has been part of “Give Kids A Smile!” since it began in 2003. To date, nearly 18,000 dental volunteers have provided over $12.3 million in oral care to more than 162,000 children across the state.
“The problem of access to care continues to be a sad reality in North Carolina,” said N.C. Dental Society executive director, Dr. Alec Parker. “Many children in North Carolina’s classrooms can’t learn because of dental pain, and too many of North Carolina’s children can’t smile because of severe dental problems. We are proud to do our part to help these children but we know our efforts alone can’t solve this problem. We need deliberate, coordinated action at the community, state, and federal level to make the necessary changes.”
The N.C. Dental Society represents 3,600 dentists throughout North Carolina. The NCDS encourages improvement of the oral health of the public, promotes the art and science of dentistry, sustains high standards of professional competence and practice, and represents the interests of the members of the dental profession and the public which it serves.
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