As this year’s chair of Give Kids a Smile, it’s been a pleasure. I have had so much fun planning an event that lies so near and dear to my heart. Just like adults need their teeth to eat, speak, and function – kids do too! Some people are not aware that baby teeth have nerves (or pulps) as well and they too can become infected causing a child pain..
For the 2017 Give Kids a Smile, our main goal was to raise oral health awareness and to educate the public that cavities are the #1 chronic disease in children and it can be prevented. Just by simple brushing, flossing, and lowering our sugar intake, we can beat the cavity causing process. Special thanks to these amazing ladies who made this event happen!
One thing that I was so impressed with this year is the number of volunteers who signed up to participate. We had 13 dentists, 21 hygienists, and 16 assistants/community members. In just four short hours we treated 37 WV children and performed over $8,5000 worth of treatment. Tudors, Marco’s, Tincher Butler lab, and Sheetz graciously donated breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages for all the volunteers.
Of course most people aren’t excited when they hear they have to go to the dentist, so we also wanted to make it fun! Thanks to H&H enterprises who donated us a heated tent we were able to set up education stations that involved sports safety, nutrition, art, crafts, face painting, and proper hygiene. Sleepy Hollow golf club and the Block donated veggie and fruit cups for all the kids! We even had the tooth fairy, princesses like Elsa, Moana, Merida and some superheroes join in on the fun!
All in all, what an incredible day! I want to send a special thank you to Sharon Zegeer who has donated 15 years of service to the Kanawha Valley Dental Society Give Kids a Smile event. Thank you Sharon for your service!
