Give Kids A Smile Set for Saturday, February 4

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The children of Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties will have something to smile about at thethirdannual Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) event to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 9am to 1pm. Children between the ages of 4 and 10 who do not have a dentist are eligible to participate in the event and will receive preventive treatment including an exam, cleaning, sealants and fluoride varnish.

An appointment is necessary to participate in the GKAS event. If your child or you know a child who may benefit from the program, call the Mohawk Valley Perinatal Network at (315) 732-4657 ext. 226 or toll-free at 1-877-267-6193 ext. 226.

GKAS is a national program sponsored by the American Dental Association that provides free oral health care services to children from low-income families across the country. According to the Surgeon General, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, five times more prevalent than childhood asthma.

The event is organized by Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare’s Dental Health Center and the Mohawk Valley Perinatal Network. It is made possible by grants from the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare (FSLH) and the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area. This year, more than 75 volunteers will be treating children at six different locations including:

Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare’s Dental Health Center
1714 Burrstone Road, New Hartford, NY 13413
(Interpretive services available at this location)

Charles Burns, DDS
2534 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13502

Pablo R. Elizondo, DMD
311 W. Thomas Street, Rome, NY 13440

Virinder Modgil, DDS
Camden Dental PC
68 Main Street, Camden, NY 13316

Stephen Dudek, DDS
Dental Associates of West Winfield
103 Burrows Road, West Winfield, NY 13491

Mark Slavin, DDS
121 W. Main Street, Watervillle, New York 13480

Preventable oral health problems are largely neglected in children from low-income families. According to the United States Government Accountability Office, less than 37 percent of the children covered by Medicaid received dental services in the most recent report available. This is due in large part to the limited availability of dentists who accept Medicaid and other government sponsored healthcare programs.

In Oneida County, a study by the New York State Department of Health found that nearly 78 percent of third graders from low socio-economic families had insurance, yet 41 percent of those children had untreated oral health issues.

“It’s not that dentists don’t want to treat these children, it’s that there are barriers when it comes to insurance,” said Lisa Shaw, RDH, MS, community dental coordinator at FSLH. “Many of the children we see have insurance, but dentists in our community may not accept what they have.”

Some dentists are reluctant to accept Medicaid because of low reimbursement rates, late payments from states and a sometimes challenging program structure. The latest national estimates indicate that nearly 30 million children are covered by Medicaid, making them the most likely to suffer if unable to access necessary dental care.

“We want to do all that we can to make the insurance criteria friendlier for both dentists and patients in our community,” said Shaw. “Legislation can help too by eliminating some of the barriers dentists face when working with Medicaid. Ultimately, we want to be able to create dental homes for children in Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties.”