The Dental Health Services Clinic on Palm Beach State College’s Lake Worth campus offered children from the Wellington Boys and Girls Club free preventive dental treatment at the Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) event hosted by PBSC’s Dental Hygiene program.
Thirty children received a dental cleaning, x-rays (if needed), fluoride treatment, sealants, and oral health education, all performed by students currently enrolled in the Dental Hygiene Associate in Science degree program under the direct supervision of clinical faculty. “Florida has a poor rating in offering preventative dental care to children,” said Judy McCauley, director of PBSC’s Dental Hygiene program. “This program benefits the children and PBSC dental hygiene students who learn how to evaluate dental health and how to work with younger patients.”
Tooth decay (dental caries) is the most prevalent chronic disease among children and adolescents. Untreated tooth decay causes pain and infections that may lead to problems in eating, speaking, playing and learning. According to Floridians for Dental Access, Florida ranks last (50th out of 50 states) in the percentage of children receiving a dental health visit in the last 12 months, and 1 out of 4 (25.1%) Florida third graders have untreated cavities, making Florida the sixth worst state in the nation for this measure.
Palm Beach State’s 2024 GKAS event is one of about 1,500 such events being held nationwide this year. Founded by the American Dental Association in 2003, GKAS events annually involve approximately 37,000 dental health professionals providing free oral health education, screenings, and preventive and restorative treatment to over 300,000 children. To date, over 7 million underserved children have received free oral health services through the GKAS program.
“It’s really important that kids are getting their teeth taken care of the second that first tooth erupts,” said Walkyria Paz, a second-year PBSC Dental Hygiene student who is also President of the PBSC’s chapter of the Student American Dental Hygienists Association (SADHA). “Today’s event where the children were able to come and get dental care along with their friends from the Boys and Girls Club really helped take away any fear they might have had about going to the dentist.”
The 24 dental hygiene students who treated the children will soon enter the workforce. All are second-year students in the two-year Dental Hygiene A.S. degree program and graduate in May. After taking national and state licensing examinations, they will start high-demand careers as licensed registered dental hygienists in various settings, including general and specialty dental practices, hospitals and community health care facilities, and school-based programs. “Our students are in high demand, and many will have jobs before they even graduate,” McCauley said.
Source: Dental Hygiene students offer free dental care for children at ‘Give Kids a Smile Day’