CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry will host the ADA Foundation's 2019 Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) national kickoff event tomorrow. About 200 local children will receive free dental exams, cleanings, fillings, crowns, extractions, fluoride, sealants, X-rays and oral health education.
A child shows off his clean teeth after receiving care from a UNC-CH School of Dentistry student.
A UNC-CH School of Dentistry student provides care to a local child.
UNC-CH School of Dentistry personnel make the dentist’s office a more fun place by allowing the children to try on gloves and masks in the dental chair.
Some of the more than 200 annual volunteers from the UNC-CH School of Dentistry on a previous Give Kids A Smile Day.
"This is an incredible opportunity for our school to passionately serve our people, field, and community by providing oral health care to an underserved population," said Dean Scott De Rossi, D.M.D., M.B.A. "Our students, residents, faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that each child and their family has a terrific experience at Give Kids A Smile. I'm extremely proud of all of them for their dedication to making this event a success."
More than 5.5 million children have received free oral health services through Give Kids A Smile since the program's inception in 2003. In 2019 alone, more than 300,000 children in need across the U.S. will receive free oral health services, including oral health education, screening, preventive care, and in some cases, restorative treatment. About 6,300 volunteer dentists and 57,000 other dental team and community volunteers at more than 1,400 GKAS events make this possible. GKAS events range from those that provide services to hundreds of children in a day, to individual dentists providing pro-bono oral health services and a dental home to one or several children under the GKAS banner.
"Give Kids A Smile is a clear demonstration of the positive outcome of all aspects of the profession working together," said William R. Calnon, D.D.S., president of the ADA Foundation. "North Carolina University's 2019 Give Kids A Smile program is a perfect example of volunteers using skills and talents to generate better health outcomes for kids. We admire the obvious passion in this project."
The national kickoff would not be possible without the support of its generous sponsors, including Henry Schein, Inc., Colgate, and KaVo Kerr.
"Team Schein has long supported oral health professionals who share our commitment to expanding access to care for children in need, and we are pleased to join our supplier partners in supporting the Give Kids A Smile program once again," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "It is rewarding to have played a role in setting millions of children on the path to a lifetime of good oral health, and by extension overall health. We thank the thousands of volunteers across the country, and the team participating at the University of North Carolina, for their generosity in working to safeguard children's health."
For more information about how Give Kids A Smile programs are organized across the country, visit ADAFoundation.org/gkas. For more information about Give Kids A Smile programs taking place in your area, call Give Kids A Smile at 844.490.GKAS (4527) or contact your state or local dental association. The ADA Foundation's website, ADAFoundation.org, offers additional resources to help find free or reduced-cost dental care for children.
Give Kids A Smile is also the anchor event of the ADA's National Children's Dental Health Month. To learn about mouth healthy habits, visit MouthHealthy.org, which features fun quizzes, slideshows, videos and articles about dental health topics for every age and stage of life, plus the ADA Dental Symptom Checker.
Editor's Note: Photos available upon request following the event. Reporters are invited to follow the ADA on Twitter@AmerDentalAssn
About the ADA Foundation As dentistry's premier philanthropic and charitable organization, the ADA Foundation is a catalyst for uniting people and organizations to invest in better oral health for all, together. The ADA Foundation annually provides grants, scholarships, awards, and facilitated in-kind product donations to programs that are in alignment with the organization's efforts to advance oral health, expand access to dental care, and drive game-changing research. As part of these efforts, the ADA Foundation oversees the Give Kids A Smile® program and also oversees the ADA Foundation Volpe Research Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland (formerly the Paffenbarger Research Center). For more information about the ADA Foundation, visit ADAFoundation.org.
About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry: The UNC-CH School of Dentistry is transforming dentistry for better health. Founded in 1950, the UNC-CH School of Dentistry was the first dental school in the state and is regarded as a leader in oral health care and education. More than half the dentists in North Carolina are UNC-CH trained, and UNC-CH School of Dentistry alumni live or work in 96 of North Carolina's 100 counties, all 50 U.S. states and 27 countries. The school sees more than 90,000 patients each year in its clinics and provides care ranging from general needs to complex cases. Consistently ranked among the top schools for NIH funding, the school strongly supports the University's research mission. Together, the school's faculty, staff and students passionately serve their community and field through service within North Carolina totaling more than $3.6 million of in-kind care annually. The ultimate goal of the UNC-CH School of Dentistry is to be the global model for oral health education, in care and discovery. Click here to learn more.
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