Kids Smiles Nonprofit Dental centers for Children

Submitted by Kids Smiles

As documented in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America, dental caries (tooth decay) is the number one chronic illness in children in America, fives times more prevalent than childhood asthma, with low income children suffering the majority of the cases. This report labeledchildhood dental disease a "silent epidemic.” Pain and suffering due to untreated oral diseases can lead to problems in eating, speaking, and attending to learning. More than 51 million school hours are lost each year to dental-related illness.

Kids Smiles Inc., a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit dental center for uninsured/underinsured children up to the age 15, opened in Southwest Philadelphia to serve young patients in desperate need of dental services in January, 2001.  The staff now treats over 400 children per week from Philadelphia and the five surrounding counties.   The overwhelming response by the community led to the opening of a second site in West Philadelphia in August, 2005.  Together, the two sites serve a growing patient base of over 27,000 children who have little or no insurance. In 2007 Kids Smiles started a new dental program at St. Gabriel’s Hall in Audubon, PA, providing services to the at-risk boys who are housed there.

The clinical services provided by Kids Smiles include diagnostic x-rays, cleanings and fluoride treatments, fillings, sealants, basic and major restorative work, root canal treatment, conscious sedation, and Short Procedure Unit services at Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia. From its inception, one of the main goals of Kids Smiles has been to provide a child-friendly dental home to its young patients and their families to encourage them to continue their treatments.  The professional staff treats all of the patients and their families with dignity and respect. The centers are child friendly with colorful murals on the walls.  Children’s videos play on monitors throughout the office. The centers also run by appointment time, providing a private office feel to the public health sector.

Realizing the importance of oral health education in combating the dental epidemic, Kids Smiles formed relationships with area schools, day care and Head Start Centers and camps to provide information to area children and their families. The Kids Smiles outreach team travels to these places to teach children about the importance of proper oral hygiene, the dangers of tobacco, and how to live a healthy lifestyle. In addition to education, the outreach team provides free oral health screenings to these children and then reports the findings back to their guardians. The outreach team then assists these guardians in finding a dentist if they do not already have one as well as applying for various state insurance programs.

New requests for dental services continue to pour in, and the original SW Philadelphia office is now “bursting at the seams” and is in the midst of an expansion project. To learn more about the Kids Smiles mission please visit www.kidssmiles.org or contact Mike Pugliese at mikepugliese81@yahoo.com.