House Praises “Give Kids a Smile” Program

On October 4, the House approved, 338-0, a resolution (H. Res. 576) congratulating the American Dental Association (ADA) for its sponsorship of the second annual “Give Kids a Smile” program. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the resolution on September 30 (see The Source, 10/1/04).

Sponsored by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• Access to dental care is a vital element of overall health care and development for children;
• Untreated tooth decay results in thousands of children experiencing poor eating and sleeping patterns, suffering decreased attention spans at schools, and being unable to smile;
• For many reasons, children eligible for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program are three to five times more likely than other children to experience and suffer from untreated tooth decay;
• Every year, dentists provide an estimated $1.7 billion in non-reimbursed dental care;
• The participation of dentists in the “Give Kids a Smile” program serves to remind people about the need to end untreated childhood dental decay; and
• During this year’s “Give Kids a Smile” program, more than 37,000 volunteers, including 15,000 dentists, provided free education, screening, and dental care services to an estimated one million children at more than 2,500 sites in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Rep. Mike Bilirakis (R-FL) said that the “Give Kids a Smile” program “provides a much-needed service to our community by emphasizing the need to improve access to dental care for children. The program began in 2002 by a group of dentists in the Greater St. Louis Dental Society. Since then the program has grown, and in 2004 events took place at approximately 2,500 locations across the Nation, with about 36,000 dental team volunteers, including 14,000 dentists, to provide free services to underserved children. The ADA has been crucial in implementing and expanding this program, and they deserve to be commended for their efforts.”

Del. Donna Christensen (D-VI) agreed, stating, “I want to say that the participation of dentists in the second annual ‘Give Kids a Smile’ program, which was established and sponsored by…the American Dental Association, and held this year on February 6, 2004, serves as a reminder to people in the Untied States about the need to end untreated childhood dental disease and, in doing so, also prevent adult dental disease.”