Annual “Give Kids a Smile®” Events Provide Grins for Staff and Students Alike
“We brush our teeth clean!” said one 3-year-old child at the Huron Potawatomi Tribal Head Start program to the NHBP Dental team during its annual Give Kids a Smile® (GKAS) event.
Introduced at NHBP in 2019 by Dental Hygienist Kelly Farran, GKAS is a nationwide movement of events sponsored by the American Dental Association’s Foundation, all to improve underserved children’s access to dental care at a young age. GKAS events are typically held in February to celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month.
Five years later, the dental clinics at NHBP successfully continue to host GKAS events each year onsite at both Head Start programs, one in Fulton, Michigan, on the Pine Creek Indian Reservation, and the other in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Children served in Head Start programs are typically three to four years of age.
At this year’s Grand Rapids event on February 27, NHBP Registered Dental Assistant Shelby VanDenBerg, NHBP Tribal Member and Dental Assistant India Pfeifer and Grand Rapids Dental Director Megan Kemink, DDS (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa Indian Tribe) educated two dozen children on the importance of brushing, flossing and caring for their teeth.
“You all have baby teeth, so we have to take really good care of them,” said Pfeifer after reading the children a story about the Tooth Fairy and a child losing his first tooth.
For nearly an hour, NHBP staff read, answered questions, talked and played with puppets and toothbrushes with the children to get them comfortable with their presence long before they began any treatment or exam.
Kemink performed a short routine dental exam on each child, and afterward, the child received a fluoride treatment. If any follow-up care was required, Kemink referred them to a dental clinic.
“Hosting this event is always so fulfilling to me, personally and professionally,” said NHBP Registered Dental Hygienist Heidi Ruohomaki, who currently manages the GKAS event at Pine Creek.
“We have an opportunity to provide services and oral health supplies to kids that may not otherwise receive dental care,” said Ruohomaki.
Not only do the NHBP dental staff enjoy and look forward to these GKAS events, but so do the children’s parents.
“Parents have been asking for this dental visit since August,” said Audrey, a staff member from the Head Start in Grand Rapids.
While events like the GKAS serve as a great educational and intervention mechanism for young kids, they can only do so much since most good oral health habits happen outside of the dental clinic, according to Farran.
“My message to parents: Limit juice and do not allow for snacking all day,” said Farran. “Rather, set a designated snack time and eat then. If you constantly sip on juice and eat all day, the acid builds in your mouth, causing tooth decay.”
The messaging during GKAS is simple, easy to understand for the children, and culturally relevant. Each child was given coloring books about dental health and a workbook featuring the life story of the first Native American female dentist, Dr. Jessica Rickert, DDS.
“We educate the kids during this time on brushing, flossing and nutrition, which are all key to a healthy mouth,” said Ruohomaki.
In 2024, NHBP Dental Team served a total of 35 children at the Head Start programs, with 12 of them at Pine Creek on February 6.
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