The San
Juan College Dental Hygiene Program teamed up with the local dental society
to once again participate in the national Give Kids
A Smile® (GKAS)
event on Friday, Feb. 2. This is the 21st year that the San Juan College Dental
Hygiene Program has participated in and hosted this event. From 8:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., dental hygiene students and local dentists and their staff provided
dental care, free of charge, to underserved children in the community.
The
Story Behind GKAS
In 2002, GKAS began in a soon-to-be-demolished
dental clinic in St. Louis, MO, where 15 patient chairs were scraped together
to deliver free dental care to nearly 400 children. The American Dental
Association recognized that this grassroots effort had great potential to raise
national awareness about the importance of oral health to overall health and
about the staggering need that exists among millions of children who go without
oral care. So in 2003, GKAS evolved into a nationwide program with the goal of
providing free oral health care to underserved children.
Each year, approximately 6,500 dentists and
30,000 dental team members volunteer at local GKAS events to provide free oral
health education, screenings and preventive and restorative treatment to over
300,000 children. GKAS events kick off annually on the first Friday in
February, which is also Give Kids A Smile Day. GKAS events are held throughout
the year, across the United States. To date, over 7 million underserved
children have received free oral health services through the GKAS program.
Local Collaborations Support the Annual Event
In
Farmington, NM, GKAS started in 2003 as a collaboration between the Northwest
District Dental Society (NWDDS) and the San Juan College Dental Hygiene Program
(SJCDHP). At the inaugural event, 36 children were seen in Farmington.
The
initial GKAS event consisted of volunteer dentists assisted by dental hygiene
students taking radiographs, doing dental examinations and screenings and
referring the children to dentists in the community for final treatment. In
2006, the inefficiencies of this system caused a switch to the current system
of providing as much comprehensive care as possible on the day of the event.
Although some of the more extensive or long-term care such as orthodontics,
endodontics and oral surgery are still referred out, the vast majority of the
work is done on the day of GKAS.
Over
the years, the Farmington GKAS event has treated more than 2000 patients and
done over $2 million worth in donated dentistry. Over the years, local
collaboration has included the NWDDS, New Mexico Dental Association (NMDA),
SJCDHP, local schools and the community. The GKAS event has faithfully hosted
in the SJCDHP dental clinic every year without fail since 2003.
During
the event, San Juan College dental hygiene students will provide patients with
oral hygiene education, radiographs, prophylaxis and fluoride. Community
dentists will provide oral examinations and dental treatment. In addition to
the dentists volunteering at the clinic, community orthodontists, endodontists
and oral surgeons have volunteered to accept referrals at no-cost from the GKAS effort.
What’s
Offered?
The
GKAS program has a great deal to offer. It provides oral health care to
children in the community in need that otherwise may not be able to afford it. Dental
cavities are the number one reason for children missing school because of
toothache. Treating these children gets them out of pain and allows them to
attend school and concentrate on their schoolwork. It also provides an
opportunity for families to establish relationships with area dentists and
often to establish a dental home in the future so that the oral health of the
entire family is improved.
The
event provides an opportunity for dental hygiene students to work in a public
health project and see how community and volunteer health care events function.
In addition, students often are able to see patients and complete procedures
required for graduation.
It
affords an opportunity for local dentists interested in hiring a hygienist and
students near graduation to interact and gain experience working together. This
fosters professional networking and possible future opportunities for both
dentists and students. Dentists and staff also gain continuing education
credits by supporting these events.
Overall,
the GKAS event offers everyone an opportunity to give back to their community.
Currently, there are 1022 GKAS events nationwide and only 5% of those (51) can
claim they have been doing it for more than 10 years. And an even smaller
handful have been doing it for 20 years, like Farmington.
Published on February 14, 2024
Courtesy of San Juan College Dental Hygiene
Program