BLAINE, Minn. – (Jan. 28, 2016) – Each year, dental professionals from across the state participate in Give Kids a Smile, providing free dental care to children in need. Several Anoka County dental clinics are participating in the program including Ling Family Dentistry in Blaine. On Feb. 5 and 6 up to 5,000 children will receive free dental work which could include anything from a simple cleaning to major dental work.
“When they get here we greet them, they fill out a short form of a medical history and then they come in and might have their teeth cleaned, checked. If they need any dental work done we would complete that at that time, sealants and possible fluoride treatments to prevent disease,” said Dr. Jodi Pope.
The Give Kids a Smile program is made possible by the 150 clinics and 2500 volunteers that are donating their time, space and resources. The volunteers also focus on prevention and education for the whole family during the event. “Education is very important and some people don’t realize how often to brush their teeth, how much time is needed to get it clean in there,” said Dr. Pope.
Parents of all kids often need a reminder about what they can do to ensure good oral hygiene for their kids. “The things we recommend for parents to help their kids is setting a timer for timed brushing, helping the child brush their teeth instead of letting them do everything by themselves, checking around in their every once and awhile to see if they see anything they don’t like. Paying attention is probably one of the biggest things. Things get missed because you don’t know about it,” said Dr. Pope.
Dr. Pope said that kids can be seen by a dentist as soon as they get their first tooth and should be seen no later than their fourth birthday. With nearly 1 in 4 children between two to eleven years old having untreated cavities, regular visits are the best way to stay on top of any issues that may arise. “We usually recommend that we see children every six months for sure to do regular cleanings and check ups. Things can happen so fast in baby teeth or in childhood,” said Dr. Pope. Many kids are still scared of the dentist office but Dr. Pope takes extra steps to make kids feel comfortable as soon as they sit down.
“We try to help relate everything that we do to something they understand so depending on their age we will give them different tricks or tips of what this is suppose to feel like, how it’s going to go and try to make them feel as comfortable as they can and we usually try to not do anything to invasive in one of the first visits so that the child knows that we’re not scary people, we’re like everyone else,” said Dr. Pope.
Since Give Kids a Smile began, Minnesota dentists have provided free care to more than 65,000 young children and donated services valued at more than $16 million.
