Healthy teeth, happy smiles! And that’s how Give Kids A Smile, a completely free dental prevention program for students, offered oral hygiene in schools in the East Harlem district.
“They checked my teeth,” says Martin Andrade, a student at PS 146.
Andrade and more than 200 students from PS146 and P169 were visited by various dentists and volunteers from the New York County Dental Society for dental check-ups and preventive treatments.
Among them is the dentist Stephanie Ventura:
“We need to educate them that they have to take care of themselves in order to avoid losing their teeth, in order to avoid the pain that it can cause them, the psychological trauma that can cause a child when they have pain or a cavity.”
Third grader Skylar Soto is very clear about that, as she says that dental disease can be prevented and must be stopped before a serious problem occurs.
“Because that’s how our teeth stay healthy, which means germs can’t get into our mouths and we can avoid cavities,” Soto says.
And while the feel and taste of the fluoride weren’t to Skylar’s liking, she did her part during the routine checkup.
“Fluoride didn’t taste so good to me, it got a bit on my tongue, it was spicy and unpleasant at the same time.”
Complementary to the reviews, the organizers offered didactic material that explains the importance of taking care of the teeth through food, and proper techniques for brushing the teeth.
The Give Kids A Smile program since 2003 has given children in disadvantaged neighborhoods free oral care at local events like these schools.
Surprisingly, a large percentage of these children have not visited a dentist and this was their first oral cleaning, so the experts assured that promoting dental hygiene at an early age is key and essential for the general health and well-being of children. children.
