A look at three dental school clinics for GKAS
New York鈥擳hree New York dental schools opened their doors Feb. 5, welcoming a group of ADA leaders and dental industry sponsors in for a glimpse of Give Kids A Smile activities.
The day begins: ADA President Ron Tankersley Feb. 5 addresses the Henry Schein Dental breakfast event in New York. “Give Kids A Smile highlights to policymakers the challenges that low income families have in getting access to dental care.”
Give Kids A Smile was created to highlight the ongoing challenges that underserved children face in accessing oral health care, and to build support among policymakers for public and private solutions that provide regular access.
As the safety net providers for low-income families in the communities in which they serve, the nation’s dental schools are in a unique position to help policymakers understand access issues.
Henry Schein Dental, the founding exclusive professional product sponsor of Give Kids A Smile, coordinated the tour of dental schools, which included representatives from co-sponsors DEXIS Digital X-Ray and Colgate-Palmolive Co., regional constituent societies, Henry Schein’s 40 supplier partners and ADA dignitaries, including President Ron Tankersley.
On the southeast side of New York City, children arrived throughout the day at the New York University College of Dentistry for dental treatment, screenings and education. Further north at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, faculty, staff and students awaited patients, parents and policymakers. Across Long Island, the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, Suffolk County Dental Society and St. Charles Hospital provided care to hundreds of children.
Give Kids A Smile is “a symbolic representation of what we’re doing every day,” said Dr. Charles Bertolami, dean of the New York University College of Dentistry. “This event does an excellent job of illustrating the amount of unmet dental need out there.”
Dr. Amr M. Moursi, chair of the NYU Department of Pediatric Dentistry, said the college’s goal for GKAS is to start children on a prevention program.
NYU works closely with area schools, Head Starts, community centers and community health fairs to identify children in need of oral health care. Many of the children seen on this day have been treated at the dental school in the past, while others are screened on-site at elementary schools and bused into the college for treatment. Children tend to miss less school when the schools bus them to NYU for care, said Dr. Moursi.
Give Kids A Smile is a special occasion that allows staff, students, residents and faculty to come together to treat children and emphasize education and prevention. “For us it’s not terribly different than the access programs we do every day,” said Dr. Moursi. “We use this day to promote oral health and focus on preventive care, and have fun so children can learn in a nonthreatening environment.”
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More than 60 children were treated the morning of Feb. 5 at the Columbia University School of Dental Medicine’s pediatric dental clinic.
“Give Kids A Smile is an expected event every year, and students and residents in particular really look forward to it,” said Dr. Steven Chussid, director of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry.
Dr. Chussid believes the increased attention to access needs is yielding results.
“As we become more organized, the interest in this program expands,” he said. “I think we’ve done an exceptional job getting to children in need at an earlier age.”
This is due, he believes, in large part to the dental school’s work with Head Start centers. “They know we’re here, and the staff will bring children in at 1 and 2 so we are able to prevent a lot of the problems we see in older children.”
There were 13,000 patient visits last year at the pediatric dental clinic, said Dr. Ira Lamster, dean of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, in remarks welcoming city and state officials to the dental school for Give Kids A Smile. Dr. Lamster called them “elected officials who have been supportive of the dental school and medical education.” They included Denny Farrell, New York State assemblyman; and Ydanis Rodriguez and Robert Jackson, New York City council members. Assemblyman Farrell brought a GKAS proclamation signed by Gov. David Paterson, while Councilman Jackson delivered a New York City Council Citation.
Remarks from dignitaries were brief; the clinic had care to provide. Dr. Aura Caldera, a pediatric dental resident, treated several children on GKAS day, and said the diagnoses varied depending on the age group.
“It was an interesting day,” said Dr. Caldera. “We had all different ages and some with significant decay, but with the older kids there were a lot of questions about things like smoking so we spent some time talking to them about their health concerns.
“In younger children there is a lot of bottle use, especially in 2-year-olds. Hygiene could be better. It’s good to have them in at an early age so we can prevent some of these things, and promote fluoride use,” she said. “There are a lot of snackers, too, resulting in the demineralization of teeth. One girl had an abscessed tooth. We spent some time emphasizing healthy eating.”
Oral health promotion and educational activities continued in elementary schools throughout Northern Manhattan, the Bronx and surrounding areas Feb. 5 through on-site visits coordinated through the Columbia Community DentCare program.
As an awareness-raising exercise, Dr. Caldera gives GKAS a thumbs-up. “This is a great way to get the children in and let them know we’re here so we can provide a dental home,” she said.
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