Free Childrens' Dental Care Friday, Feb. 3 **UPDATED**
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On Friday, Feb. 3 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the University of Maine at Bangor Dental Hygiene Program will host Give Kids A Smile Day by offering free dental care to children ages 1-18. Area dentists, dental hygienists and student dental hygienists will volunteer their time for dental cleanings, x-rays, sealants and fillings if necessary. The only requirement being that the child currently does not have a dentist. The program is open to any Maine child from any Maine community.
Because poor or no dental care for children is common in some areas of Maine, dental decay is the most preventable disease among children. When a child learns poor dental practices or, in some cases, nothing about their dental care, they grow into adults with oral disease, heart disease and women with pre-term, low birth weight babies among many other illnesses.
This is a once a year opportunity to get your children, grandchildren or the neighbor's kid in to see a dental professional and begin a life of learning correct oral care. The clinic's address is 201 Texas Avenue in Bangor and its phone number FMI or to make your appointment is 262-7870. If Amy is unable to answer, please leave a message and she'll get right back to you. She'll explain the detail such as a parent must accompany the child (or most anyone with written permission from the parents).
Remember, Friday Feb. 3 is the only day set aside for this. If you know of a child who is in need of dental care or who doesn't have a dentist, please urge them or their parents to take advantage of this one day program.
(Okay, that's the official notice. On a personal note, there are always folks who believe that dental care is pretty low on the totem pole. It's unfortunate they continue the tradition they were taught and pass their poor and/or nonexistent practice to their children which continues the cycle. You wouldn't believe the excuses given for not taking little Johnny and Susie to see a dentist much to the child's detriment. This one day program is about as good as it gets and I urge you to take full advantage of it. I'm not a fan of taking a child out of school for most reasons but for this program, I can think of no better reason.)
How do you complement a girl from The County?
"Nice tooth!"
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I spoke to a dentist who had just opened up a practice in rural Maine. "Just my luck," he told me. "I settle down in the only place in the US where teeth are optional."
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Did you know the toothbrush was invented in Maine? We know that because if it had come from anywhere else, it would have been called the TEETHbrush.
I just wanted to update the AMG crowd and let them know the Give Kids A Smile Day was *wildly* successful with approximately 50 kids seeing treatments yesterday all at no charge. More extractions were performed than anticipated but fortunately - as far as extractions go - they were all baby teeth. One little guy about 5 years old even had an abscessed tooth. Way, way too young for this sort of thing. With proper dental care, that sort of thing would never have happened. Though scheduled to end at 5 p.m., the last dentist and hygienist walked out at 7 p.m. On an up note, a lot of parents/caregivers received an eye-opening education today and learned new (to them) methods of at-home oral care and how important it is. A lot of cavities were filled and a lot of good, healthy teeth had sealants applied.
Lastly, last year's event was not a "sold out" day like yesterday was. Coincidentally, last year's event was not posted on AMG. I think AMG had more to do with this year's success than anything else. The fact that it was posted as a sticky certainly helped! Their help & generosity in getting the word out is very much appreciated.
And at the risk of preaching folks, please make sure your children/grandchildren know and practice good oral health. Brushing one's teeth 3 times daily, rinsing with fluoride and flossing once daily is not expensive nor time consuming. Once it becomes a habit, it's nothing more than part of the daily routine. **Stepping off soapbox now**
Thanks!
Chairman, I am so glad to hear it was a great success! That is awesome.
I am surprised that so many parents/caregivers are uninformed about basic child dental care. With all the government programs and school outreach, you'd think they'd all be more informed. It's good they were given a free chance to learn some good habits for themselves, and their children.
Thank you again, and I am glad if AMG could do a part in getting those kids treated. If this becomes a yearly event, at least we know those children will have a minimum of dental care as their adult teeth come in.
Be true to your teeth - or they'll be false to you!
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Chairman - thank you for posting this information. Dental care is so important to overall health.