With the arrival of school bus after school bus Friday morning, February 5, more than 600 East Baton Rouge Parish School System students arrived at dental offices throughout the area in well-timed shifts. Lines sometimes snaked out the front door, and both lobby and dental chairs were full most of the time as participating dentists donated free check-ups, cleanings, assessments and fluoride treatments during the Give Kids A Smile project.
Some dentists also provided sealants for the children’s teeth. Selected first- and second-grade students from public schools participated in Friday morning’s program.
At Just Kids Dental in the Delmont Village Shopping Center, about 60 students from Brookstown, Merrydale and Howell Park elementary schools were treated over about an hour and a half. They received a bag filled with hygiene information, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and, after they were treated, children could select a prize from the treasure box. After a cleaning, Howell Park Elementary student Devon Jones (first photo, right) was given a fluoride treatment by dental technician Ashley Glaser (left). Helping organize the effort at that site were (second photo, left to right): Councilwoman Tara Wicker, Just for Kids Dr. Billy Hall, School Board member Jill Dyason and Sue Catchings, CEO of Health Centers in Schools. Wicker taped her Metro 21 television show on site and featured the program.
The effort is part of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) National Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) program and also, in part, to acknowledge February as national Children’s Dental Health Month. Locally, the Greater Baton Rouge Dental Association and the Louisiana Dental Association oversee the event with partners Health Centers in Schools, the School System and 11 area dental offices. By closing down their offices and donating time and services, the value of the donation is almost $70,000. For example, at the LSU School of Dentistry in Baton Rouge, about 200 chairs were filled by students receiving donated care at any time on Friday morning. In total, 14 public schools had students participating in the project at all dental offices that volunteered.
