House Committee Praises “Give Kids a Smile” Program

On September 30, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 576) congratulating the American Dental Association for its sponsorship of the second annual “Give Kids a Smile” program. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) sponsored the resolution.

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.