Students Provide More Than $40,000 in No-Cost Dental Care To Local Children
On Friday, Feb. 7, 200 volunteers at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry provided $41,351 of free oral health care services to a record-breaking 200 children as a part of the school’s seventh annual Give Kids A Smile® event.
“Because of your support of Give Kids A Smile 2020, we were able to provide much needed care to families in our community,” said student coordinators, Caitlin Baker, Austin Harbison, Kayla Kopczynski, and Justin Nunes, DDS Candidates 2021.
“We have heard from countless families expressing their gratitude and appreciation for the time and effort you gave toward this purpose.”
With the help of volunteer students, residents, faculty, staff and alumni, the children were able to receive dental screenings, dental exams, x-rays, fluoride treatment, sealants, fillings, crowns and extractions to all patients.
At the event, children and their families experienced an interactive health fair with representatives from the UNC-CH School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and UNC-CH Athletics. Along the way, children filled out a passport after visiting each table and earned a sticker to see the Tooth Fairy.
“Our school’s Give Kids A Smile event is annually one of my favorite happenings at the Adams School of Dentistry,” said Dean Scott S. De Rossi, DMD, MBA. “I am moved by our community’s passion for service to our community and inspired by all that is accomplished in just one day. Knowing that this year’s event has exceeded the incredible reach and impact of previous years through in-kind care of more than $41,000 is all the more reason to be moved and inspired. I could not be more proud of our student coordinators and our volunteers, and thank them all for their service.”
Through the ADA Foundation’s Give Kids A Smile program, launched nationally by the American Dental Association in 2003, more than 5.5 million underserved children have received free oral health services.
These free services are provided by approximately 10,000 volunteer dentists annually, along with 30,000 other dental team members. The Adams School of Dentistry’s event was generously sponsored by Richmond Dental and Medical, as well as several alumni, faculty and staff.
