Miami, Feb. 13, 2017- Always dedicated to serving the community, Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Medical Center Campus has partnered with CARE Elementary School to provide dental hygiene to children at 9 a.m., Friday, Feb. 17, as part of the American Dental Association (ADA) Foundation’s Give Kids a Smile program.
Launched in 2003, the nationwide Give Kids a Smile program brings dental professionals together to provide screenings, treatment and education to children throughout the United States. Each year, nearly 400,000 children benefit from more than 1,500 events because of the efforts of 40,000 or more annual volunteers nationwide.
The Give Kids a Smile program is held annually to provide free, easily accessible dental and hygiene services to children. It raises awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease occurring locally and nationally. The program also creates local public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis.
Nearly one in four children under the age of five already has cavities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many children enrolled in Medicaid receive no dental services throughout the year. The high volume of patients participating in charitable events like Give Kids a Smile highlights a clear gap between those children with and without good dental health.
MDC has a renowned Dental Hygiene program at its Medical Campus, providing low-cost services to the community and to students, faculty and staff from all MDC campuses. The campus serves more than 2,000 patients a year for dental services.