Helping Kids Smile
Getting a high-five isn't typical for dentists filling cavities and pulling teeth.
But the gesture is common for children who receive free dental care after months or years of going without it at the School of Dental Medicine's Saturday Children's Clinic.
"(The children) give you a high-five and say thanks," said Aaron Bjarnason, a student who co-founded the children's clinic. "The children are very appreciative and serious. When parents come, there's an austere seriousness about them. They're not taking this lightly."
Filling a Gap
After noticing how many children do not have access to dental care, dental students started the Saturday Children's Clinic in October 2007. Faculty and students have volunteered more than 1,000 hours and provided 260 patients with $96,000 worth of treatment. The children's clinic is held three to five times a year. Funding is provided entirely by the dental school.
The children's clinic is one of many ways the dental school serves the community. On March 28, a children's clinic will be held along with clinics for veterans and for women referred by Shade Tree Shelter. The clinics are for people who do not qualify for Medicaid and cannot afford dental insurance. If necessary, some of the patients receive continuing care to treat complex dental procedures.
At the seventh annual Give Kids a Smile event last month, 250 children of low-income families received free dental care.
Inspiring Volunteerism
"At all of the clinics, our students gain valuable clinical experience and also get critical insights into the acute oral health needs of our community — insights that they will hopefully utilize to offer similar community services in the communities where they will practice," said Dr. Leslie Karns, associate dean for clinical services.
For Bjarnason, the children's clinic has done just that.
"When I started the clinic, I knew I wanted to be involved and I knew I wanted to contribute to society in general," Bjarnason said. "Some of us have become empowered by the responsibility of volunteering for something like that. It instilled in me a deep desire to start pediatrics as a career."
Patients are referred to the children's clinic through the Clark County School District and a Southern Nevada Dental Society program.
Related Information
School of Dental Medicine
Las Vegas Review-Journal story
