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WASHINGTON – For the 10th consecutive
year, Howard University College of Dentistry
will be hosting “Give Kids a Smile” Friday. During
the event, hundreds of children from the District
of Columbia will receive free dental care to
stress the importance of dental hygiene.
More
than
300
children
from
Chamberlain
Elementary
School
will
have
their
teeth
examined
and
repaired
by
scores
of
dentists
and
dental
students
from
Howard
and
the
D.C.
Dental
Society
who
will
be
working
out
of
the
College
of
Dentistry
at
600
W
St
NW. Some
students
will
receive
cleanings,
some
extractions
and
some
are
even
getting
crowns.
“Give
Kids
a
Smile” is
a
nationwide
program
focused
on
providing
dental
care
and
education
to
all
children. Since
the
program
began,
more
than
9,523
dentists
have
treated
405,338
children
nationally
in
1,588
locations.
“There
is
a
need,
a
great
need,
for
dental
care
within
the
city,” said
John
Bailey,
clinic
director
at
the
Howard
University
College
of
Dentistry. “We
know
from
the
incident
with
Deamonte
Driver
that
there
are
kids
out
there
that
need
these
treatments. We
go
out
and
provide
them.”
Driver,
12,
of
Prince
George’s
County,
died
in
February
2007
after
a
neglected
tooth
infection
traveled
to
his
brain.
A
simple
checkup
and
extraction
could
have
saved
his
life.
Dianne
Harris
is
director
of
health
services
for
Friendship
Public
Charter
Schools. Chamberlain
is
one
of
the
schools
in
her
system.
“This
is
so
unique
because
they
are
helping
people
over
12-years-old,
and
they’re
the
ones
that
need
it
the
most,” Harris
said. “It’s
not
just
an
educational
thing. ThWASHINGTON
(Feb.
4)
--The
buses
arrived
early,
swarms
of
smiling
children
from
Washington’s
Chamberlain
Elementary
School
pouring
out
into
Howard
University’s
College
of
Dentistry.
There
were
giggles
and
laughter,
sprints
up
the
stairs
and
through
the
college’s
lobby.
They
were
excited
and
happy.
They
were
going
to
see
the
dentist.
It
was
the
10th
year
of
“Give
Kids
a
Smile”
at
Howard
University.
With
the
help
of
the
D.C.
Dental
Society,
Howard
and
its
dentistry
students
again
provided
free
dental
care
and
education
to
hundreds
of
children
in
Washington,
D.C.
It
was
a
hectic
scene
Friday
morning
as
more
than
300
children
scurried
about
the
facility.
Dentists
and
dental
students
anxiously
rushed
around
as
they
prepared
for
the
hordes
of
students
who
would
soon
fill
their
chairs.
One
needed
the
fluoride
to
clean
the
children’s
teeth.
Another
wanted
the
chemical
needed
to
numb
the
gums.
They
were
all
eager
to
have
a
positive
impact
on
a
child’s
life.
“I
actually
like
treating
children,”
said
Howard
senior
Kevin
Banks
as
he
anxiously
awaited
the
incoming
elementary
school
students.
“Its
what
I
want
to
go
into.
The
fact
is
that
you
can
at
least
put
a
smile
on
their
face
knowing
that
in
the
future,
hopefully,
they’ll
be
able
to
see
that
their
teeth
are
important.”
There
were
high
levels
of
energy
all
around.
“I’m
ready
to
get
my
teeth
cleaned!”
said
Mackenzie
Walden
Taylor,
a
3rd
grader.
She
and
her
classmates
bantered
anxiously
as
they
waited
to
receive
their
oral
examination.
Taylor’s
friend,
Kameron
Powell,
a
3rd
grader
as
well,
said
he
was
also
excited
to
get
his
teeth
cleaned,
noting
that
dental
hygiene
is
“very
important.”
The
children
were
elated
going
in
and
out
of
the
variety
of
treatment
stops,
all
of
which
were
full.
Bradley
Morgan,
a
3rd
grader,
said
it
was
“excellent”
getting
his
teeth
cleaned.
“I
brush
my
teeth
twice
a
day,”
Bradley.
Sabriya
Lawson
is
also
a
3rd
grader.
“It
feels
good
to
have
clean
teeth!”
she
said
happily.
Ricardo
Perez,
a
volunteering
pediatric
dentist
from
the
District,
awaited
his
first
patient.
His
enthusiasm
showed.
“I’m
happy
to
help
with
and
participate
in
this
health
care
fare,”
Perez
said.
“The
beautiful
thing
about
kids
today
is
that
most
of
them
have
very
healthy
teeth.”
But
not
everybody
does,
Perez
said.
Underprivileged
children,
for
example,
are
less
likely
to
see
their
dentist
for
preventive
care,
which
is
the
reason
for
“Give
Kids
a
Smile,”
a
national
program
that
has
threated
over
400,000
children
since
its
inception
in
2001.
“We
want
everybody
to
have
perfectly
healthy
teeth
independent
of
what
your
background
is,”
Perez
said.
The
children
were
not
only
treated,
but
were
also
treated
to
various
presentations
on
dental
hygiene
by
dentistry
students
and
staff.
The
kids
watched
instructional
videos
and
demonstrations
that
taught
proper
brushing
and
flossing
techniques
as
well
as
dietary
tips
to
keep
their
teeth
healthy.
The
education
aspect
of
the
program
is
vital,
the
dentists
said,
but
the
elementary
school
students
are
not
the
only
students
to
benefit
from
the
event.
By
working
hands
on
and
with
professionals
in
the
Washington
dentistry
community,
Howard
dentistry
students
receive
an
important
lesson.
“Not
only
is
there
a
tremendous
amount
of
treatment
being
provided,
but
we
are
also
preparing
the
next
generation
of
oral
health
care
providers
to
have
a
greater
willingness
and
capacity
to
give
back
to
the
community,”
said
Dr.
Donna
Grant-Mills,
associate
professor
at
Howard
University
and
chairperson
of
the
event.
“The
mentorship
that
takes
place
between
the
volunteer
dentist
and
the
dental
students
can
be
just
amazing.”
Additionally,
some
students
go
on
to
work
in
professional
dentist
offices
of
the
people
they
meet
at
the
event,
forming
strong
mentor-mentee
relationships.
Senior
dentistry
student
Amir
Singh
was
thrilled
by
the
possibility
of
changing
a
child’s
life.
“For
us
to
see
so
many
and
to
give
them
not
only
the
work
they
need
done,
but
quality
work,
that’s
what’s
most
rewarding,”
Singh
said.
“We’ve
been
doing
this
for
a
decade
now,
and
every
year
we
get
more
organized
and
we
get
more
kids.”
Singh,
who
graduates
in
May,
plans
on
returning
to
the
program
anytime
he
can
to
help
out.
“I
believe
so
strongly
in
this
program,”
he
said.
“I
think
that
it’s
really
special.”
Some
of
the
dentistry
students
weren’t
initially
thrilled
by
having
to
deal
with
children.
“The
funny
thing
is
I
never
thought
that
I
would
like
pediatrics,”
said
Candice
Hardwick,
a
2nd
year
graduate
student
in
the
dentistry
college.
“but
seeing
the
kids
walk
in
so
happy
and
excited,
it
was
a
good
chance
to
get
some
experience
working
with
kids.”
Every
year,
the
DC
Dental
Association
and
Howard
University
dentistry
students
visit
schools
and
do
screenings
in
order
to
locate
children
who
are
most
in
need
of
treatment.
Each
year
a
different
school
is
selected.
“The
whole
idea
of
this
program
was
to
bring
exposure
to
the
community
for
the
children’s
need,”
said
Ali
Fassihi,
president
of
the
DC
Dental
Society.
“From
that
exposure,
we
were
able
to
initiate
certain
changes
in
Medicaid
funding,
and
now
there
is
Medicaid
funding
in
the
city.”
This
funding
has
made
it
so
that
dentist
just
across
D.C.’s
border
can
now
visit
children
in
the
District
of
Columbia
and
give
them
proper,
sufficient
care,
Fassihi
said.
“Because
of
this
Medicaid
funding
change,
the
kids
are
now
getting
really
adequate
care,”
said
Fassihi.
Although
screenings
from
the
past
two
years
have
shown
a
general
improvement
of
children’s
oral
hygiene,
there
are
still
those
who
are
not
able
to
get
dental
treatment
with
their
Medicaid
coverage.
“We
are
going
to
now
see
how
we
can
get
proper
care
to
those
children
whose
parents
cant
get
them
to
the
dentist,”
Fassihi
said.
As
the
event
ended
and
the
children
began
to
leave,
many
expressed
a
sense
of
satisfaction
and
accomplishment.
“Today
was
very
successful,
it
was
great,”
said
Patrick
Grogan,
chairperson
of
the
program.
“We
actually
treated
twice
as
many
kids
as
we
normally
do
for
this
event.
“I
think
the
most
important
part
that
kids
are
taking
home
from
this
is
really
the
education,
teaching
them
to
value
their
dental
health
and
to
realize
that
it
is
important.
There’s
the
old
saying.
‘Give
a
guy
a
fish,
and
he
eats
one
time.
But
if
you
teach
him
how
to
fish,
he’ll
never
go
hungry
again.’
It’s
the
same
kind
of
thing
here.”
is
could
change
a
child’s
life.
“I
think
the
importance
of
health
in
itself
is
a
way
to
engage
our
students
in
empowering
themselves
about
dental
hygiene,” said
Harris. “This
is
another
way
to
show
that
schools
and
communities
can
work
together.”
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