GIVING KIDS A REASON TO SMILE

In celebration of Children’s Dental Health Day, free dental care was provided on Saturday, February 10 to Clark County children ages 2-17 who don’t have dental insurance.

This joint effort of the Clark County Dental Society, the Free Clinic of SW Vancouver, the Clark County Health Department, the Greater Southwest Washington Dental Hygienists’ Association, the Vancouver Skills Center and Clark College was held at the college’s dental hygiene clinic. Clark College dental hygiene students and faculty were among the more than 150 volunteers, as were Spanish-speaking Clark students who served as interpreters.

Dental services were provided to nearly 300 children who did not have access to dental care. Services provided included patient education, sealants, fluoride varnishes, fillings, extractions, root canals and x-rays.

Donna Wittmayer, director of Clark’s dental hygiene program, noted, “It is wonderful to know we had an impact on these children’s dental health.”

The American Dental Association held the first national observance of Children's Dental Health Day on February 8, 1949. This single day observance became a week-long event in 1955. In 1981, the program was extended to a month-long celebration known today as National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM). NCDHM messages reach millions of people in communities across the country and at numerous armed service bases abroad.
   
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