Give Kids a Smile Day - 2008

February 1, 2008

2008 GKAS Participation Form

On Friday, February 1, 2008, all across the state, Oklahoma dentists will provide FREE oral health care services to hundreds of low-income children. Give Kids a Smile! day is a national children's dental access day, during National Children's Dental Health Month, the goal of which is to improve the oral health of large numbers of needy children. The Give Kids a Smile! campaign also hopes to highlight for policy makers the ongoing challenges that low-income and disabled children face in accessing dental care.

The overarching concept of the initiative is to create a national umbrella for the numerous charitable education, screening, prevention and comprehensive treatment programs already in existence by having as many of them as possible occur on the same day. At the same time, the campaign provides a framework for identifying, cataloging and recognizing the many access programs that take place throughout the year.

Oklahoma dentists plan to provide a range of different activities across the state during the upcoming Give Kids a Smile! day. Activities vary from dentists provided brushing demonstrations and oral health discussions in schools and community groups, to dentists opening up their own practices to provide free diagnosis and treatment of children's dental health. The Oklahoma Dental Association recognizes any effort by an ODA dentist to improve the condition of Oklahoma's children's dental health as being pertinent to the goal of Give Kids a Smile! day.

Within individual communities, Oklahoma Dental Association dentists will decide how best they can serve the children in their community during this day. Give Kids a Smile! day in 2007 hopes to build on the successes of the 2002 through 2006 campaigns. As is the nature with grassroots campaigns, Give Kids a Smile! day continues to improve every year as more dentists and children become aware of the efforts and participate in "Give Kids a Smile!" events.

Ways to Participate in Give Kids A Smile! Day

Drs. David Deason, Yukon, and Joe Maltsberger, Oologah, both very involved in these programs each year, were kind enough to share some of their ideas on how they, their staffs, and other volunteers, over the years, have created highly successful programs. Read the full article from the November 2006 issue of the ODA Journal HERE.

Dentist Resources:

Sample Letter to Teachers

Sample Letter to Parents

Sample Follow-up Letter to Parents

Sample Letter to Principals and Counselors

Sample Photo Permission Form

For more information, contact Lynn Means by email, or call the Oklahoma Dental Association at 405.848.8873 or 800.876.8890.