MONROE - February is Children's Dental Health Month, and Fowler Dental Clinic, along with the American Dental Association, will be sponsoring "Give Kids a Smile" events during the month. Volunteer dentists will be providing underserved children with free dental services and Dotty the Clown will be performing dental education shows at the elementary schools in Monroe throughout the month.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in four children age 2 to 11 has untreated cavities in their baby teeth. Many children enrolled in the under-funded Medicaid program receive no dental services throughout the year. Even with sufficient support from outside resources, many individuals often go without preventative care, which often leads to a need for more costly emergency treatment.
Give Kids a Smile is held annually to provide free, easily accessible dental services to qualifying individuals, raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease occurring locally and nationally and create local public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis, and educate the community on proper dental care and disease prevention. The American Dental Association launched the program nationally in 2003 as a way for dentists to join with others in the community to provide dental services to underserved children.
This is the second year the event has been hosted in Monroe to provide free dental care to local children who need it. The in-school dental education program by Dotty the Clown is an addition that will reach preschool, kindergarten and some first- and second-graders in Monroe schools.
This year, local dentists will be volunteering at the Fowler Dental Clinic and will see patients by appointment. For more information, contact the Green County Health Department at 608-328-9390 or Fowler Dental Clinic at 608-328-9404 and visit www.greencountyhealth.org and follow the Your Health link to the Fowler Dental Clinic.
For more information about Give Kids a Smile events, visit http://www.ada.org/en/home-ada/public-programs/give-kids-a-smile.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in four children age 2 to 11 has untreated cavities in their baby teeth. Many children enrolled in the under-funded Medicaid program receive no dental services throughout the year. Even with sufficient support from outside resources, many individuals often go without preventative care, which often leads to a need for more costly emergency treatment.
Give Kids a Smile is held annually to provide free, easily accessible dental services to qualifying individuals, raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease occurring locally and nationally and create local public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis, and educate the community on proper dental care and disease prevention. The American Dental Association launched the program nationally in 2003 as a way for dentists to join with others in the community to provide dental services to underserved children.
This is the second year the event has been hosted in Monroe to provide free dental care to local children who need it. The in-school dental education program by Dotty the Clown is an addition that will reach preschool, kindergarten and some first- and second-graders in Monroe schools.
This year, local dentists will be volunteering at the Fowler Dental Clinic and will see patients by appointment. For more information, contact the Green County Health Department at 608-328-9390 or Fowler Dental Clinic at 608-328-9404 and visit www.greencountyhealth.org and follow the Your Health link to the Fowler Dental Clinic.
For more information about Give Kids a Smile events, visit http://www.ada.org/en/home-ada/public-programs/give-kids-a-smile.