NorthShore Health Centers recently took part in the American Dental Association’s Give Kids A Smile program that made dental care available for the week of January 30th to February 2nd to underinsured or uninsured kids throughout NorthShore locations across Northwest Indiana.
Dr. Emilia Blaser D.D.S, a dentist at NorthShore Health Centers’ Merrillville location, spoke about the Give Kids A Smile program and who NorthShore was able to help through the initiative.
“It’s a nationwide program that is sponsored by the ADA (American Dental Association),” said Dr. Blaser. “They get a couple of corporate sponsors together and then dental offices across the country sign up to participate. We’re sent dental supplies for cleanings and exams, and the goal is to provide those cleanings and exams to kids ages 3-16 who don’t have insurance for free.”
“The target audience that we were looking for were children with no dental insurance or no insurance at all,” Dr. Blaser added. “If you go online to the national website they actually have statistics for how many kids signed up, which is some crazy number in the 100’s of thousands. Locally, we’ve seen, at my sight, 20 children and between the other locations we’ve seen between 50-60 children.”
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Kids were seen by two NorthShore health care providers during their visit. First, a dentist, like Dr. Blaser, provided an exam followed up by cleanings and X-rays by one of NorthShore’s hygienists.
“I would go through and took a look at all of their teeth and take a look to see how they were developing,” Dr. Blaser said. “We would also check to see if they had any significant orthodontic problems like overbites, underbites, and we do a general soft tissue exam to make sure that, developmentally, they’re looking good.”
Between the dentist's exam and the X-rays, NorthShore was able to put together a treatment plan for each child that was then presented to parents for follow up on things like fillings or tooth extractions.
After the exam, a NorthShore Health Centers dental hygienist conducted a cleaning on each child taking part in the program.
“I’ve been with NorthShore for three years and this year was, by far, our most successful year with the program,” said NorthShore registered dental hygienist, Christina McDermott. “It’s just a really great program. The children come in and get a really comprehensive cleaning and exam at no cost to them.”
“They leave with a really great goody bag too,” said McDermott. “They all get spin brushes which the kids get excited about and I think that motivates them a little bit more to brush at home because they have a fancy toothbrush.”
For some children, this might have been the first time they had visited a dentist so the opportunity can be a valuable learning experience.
“We’re doing a lot of oral hygiene instruction and why it’s important to brush twice a day, and how to brush even,” McDermott added. “It was just an all-around good day here and a successful year for the program!”
Dr. Blaser, and NorthShore’s, goal is to get kids back to see a dentist on a regular basis. “I think it was a really positive experience,” she said. “I think that it’s excellent that we have a national program like this because a lot of offices might not be able to do this without the outside help and the extra supplies that are needed to handle this volume of patients.”
“It was really nice because there was a good mix of individual children and families,” said Dr. Blaser. “You could tell that some families had been waiting for an opportunity like this and the parents were really appreciative.”
To find out more about NorthShore Health Centers, visit: http://www.northshorehealth.org/
