Because of this, Tiny Smiles was developed. In our Tiny Smiles program, we see kids from birth to age 4. This is an innovative program in which child and parent are engaged. A knee-to-knee exam is performed and education and instruction are given to the parent at the same time. Each child receives a fluoride varnish, and final recommendations are given to parents in terms of what treatment is needed.
We have learned that much of what we see and treat in our clinics can be prevented if some effort is made at home.
Dr. Blaes: I know that you are very proud of the fact that the American Dental Association adopted the Give Kids A Smile program as its National Children's Dental Access program.
Dr. Dalin: After our first clinic, we brought the concept of Give Kids A Smile to the American Dental Association. Access to care is a large problem in our country. The leadership of the ADA showed great insight in its adoption of a national Give Kids A Smile program. A national advisory board consisting of dentists, representatives from the dental industry, and staff from the ADA was created, and it has done some great work through the years.
The ADA Give Kids A Smile program will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2012. Give Kids A Smile is something that has become much more than a day. The national advisory board has the following as its mission statement:
"We are the professional and industry alliance dedicated to the elimination of cavities in U.S. five-year-olds by 2020 through our ability to nurture and enhance community-based children's oral health and wellness programs that are expandable, sustainable, and innovative. We focus on three primary areas: program enhancement, fund-raising, and staging an annual symposium to highlight Give Kids A Smile program's promising practices."
The program enhancement committee identifies access-to-care programs with a history of significant achievement, or corporations that support Give Kids A Smile with significant resources. These programs have access to Give Kids A Smile grants and national publicity venues through ADA publications, media relations, and marketing.
There are eight programs that have championed the cause and joined us in building one central voice that advocates for oral health care for underserved children. Known as our program champions, they are the America's Dentist Care Foundation (Mission of Mercy), Team Smile, Henry Schein Cares' Healthy Children, Healthy Lifestyles, Colgate's Bright Smiles, Bright Futures, AAPD's Head Start Dental Home Initiative, National Museum of Dentistry, Smiles Change Lives, and National Association of School Nurses.
An organized fund-raising initiative continues to build the Give Kids A Smile fund within the ADA Foundation. The fund has been used to assist and grow new and exciting community-based access-to-care programs nationally. We now are working with the Hispanic Dental Association and the National Dental Association by allowing each to distribute some of these grants.
