The feather in Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS) Coordinator Vani Anand’s cap was presenting (along with Director of Programs Joan Lane) at the American Dental Association’s Give Kids A Smile® Symposium in Chicago, on July 23, 2010. Her demonstration of Southwestern AHEC’s SMILES Custom Software, as an invaluable tool in implementing an efficient GKAS, was well received. It was the icing on the cake for our GKAS program which has been recognized as the most successful in CT for the past 3 years in a row! After attending the ADA’s GKAS symposium for the past three years, it was fitting that Joan and I got to be presenters of GKAS best practices, in keeping with Southwestern AHEC constant pursuit of excellence.
ORBIT Celebrates Its STARS! May 18th
May 17, 2010 Leave a Comment
Hundreds of children receive free dental care through ORBIT’s Give Kids A Smile® 2010
March 4, 2010 Leave a Comment
Dr. Adriana Torena with her young patients during Give Kids A Smile® 2010
Four hundred and forty-six (446) children have received free dental care through Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS) 2010, organized by the Oral Health Bridgeport Initiative (ORBIT) through a strategic partnership between the Bridgeport Dental Association (BDA).
Sixty-three (63) private practice dentists from Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, New Haven, Orange, Shelton, Stratford, and Trumbull provided a range of dental services from cleanings, flouride treatments and sealants, to fillings, crowns, pulpotomies, root-canals, extractions and even orthodontia. The children were identified by distributing (GKAS) flyers through Bridgeport and Stratford schools, social service agencies, local food pantries and homeless shelters. Parents, guardians and social workers called our office to register their children, and were given appointments with a dentist suited to meet the child’s needs, using a custom-designed GKAS database. Appointments also took language and transportation needs, and parents’ work schedules into consideration.
Nationally, GKAS® is observed on the first Friday in February. Due to the tremendous volunteer response of the dental community, the free care was offered throughout the month of February, and early March. Many children are continuing to be seen, so the volunteer dentists can complete all the care that the children need.
Testimonials from grateful parents:
“This is a great program!
“Wonderful experience! Thank you for your kindness, generosity and patience!!”
“Great job! Thank you!! God Bless. Have it run more than once a year!”
Testimonials from Dentists:
“Everything ran very smoothly”
“It was nice to help people☺”
“Very well run, very satisfying, patients were extremely appreciative”
Now Accepting Patients for Feb 2010 “Give Kids A Smile” Program
December 17, 2009 Leave a Comment
Do you know a child in need of dental care? Southwestern AHEC is now accepting phone calls for Give Kids A Smile 2010.
Give Kids A Smile is the American Dental Association-endorsed, annual volunteer initiative to provide free dental care to children in need. Dentists and dental hygienists from the Bridgeport Dental Association (BDA) volunteer their services, so that children with no dental insurance can receive both preventive care and treatment for oral health problems.
2010 will be the 4th year that Southwestern AHEC and the BDA have partnered to conduct Give Kids A Smile. In February 2009, donated dental services valued at more than $139,000 were provided by 48 dentists to 323 children. More than 50 dentists have already signed up to participate in February 2010.
For information, contact Oral Health Care Coordinator Vani Anand at (203) 372-5503 ext 12.
Young patient receives free care during Give Kids A Smile day 2009
Oral Health Bridgeport Initiative and the Bridgeport Dental Association Call for Area Dentists to Participate in Give Kids A Smile® February 2010
October 17, 2009 Leave a Comment
Give Kids A Smile® is fast approaching on Friday, February 5, 2010!
Oral Health Bridgeport Initiative (ORBIT) urges area dentists to volunteer their services to make a real difference in the lives of children in need. Dentists can volunteer on February 5th or on any other day in February that is convenient for them. Dentists can also choose how many children they will see and the types of services they or their hygienists will provide.
For the past three years in a row, ORBIT has successfully organized Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS), the American Dental Association – endorsed, annual, volunteer initiative, when caring dentists nation-wide donate dental services to low-income children, without access to care. For GKAS 2009, ORBIT coordinated the identification of 444 needy children from Bridgeport and Stratford, and the delivery of dental care valued at over $150,000, donated by 52 dentists belonging to the Bridgeport Dental Association.
The Connecticut State Dental Association has recognized ORBIT’s program as the most successful GKAS initiative in Connecticut and has appointed Vani Anand, ORBIT’s Oral Health Care Coordinator as a consultant to its state-wide GKAS Steering Committee. As a result, Southwestern AHEC is developing a GKAS CT Toolkit, so that ORBIT’s successful strategies can be implemented in other parts of the state. Local dental societies of Stamford and New Haven have approached ORBIT to help implement GKAS in their communities.
Dentists wishing to participate in GKAS 2010 are requested to contact Vani Anand, MPH, CHES, ORBIT’s Oral Health Care Coordinator at (203) 372-5503 X12. They can also receive more information about GKAS 2010 from Dr. Brian Amoroso, President of the BDA, at (203) 333-3636 or from Dr. Salvatore Pizzino, BDA’s GKAS Chairman, at (203) 255-5142.
Vani will follow up with identifying and scheduling kids for the dates and times dentists make available for care. ORBIT also solicits donations to help provide free transportation for children with out-of-town dental appointments, and no means of transportation. For those wishing to make a donation, please make your check payable to Southwestern AHEC, Inc. (fiduciary agent for ORBIT), and mail to: Southwestern AHEC, 5520 Park Avenue, Suite 109, Trumbull, CT 06611. Donations are tax deductible.
Dr. John Mainwaring treats a child during ORBIT's Give Kids A Smile® 2009, as Vani Anand, Oral Health Care Coordinator looks on.
