On Feb. 9, Valencia’s dental hygiene students provided free dental care and education for low-income children as part of Give Kids a Smile Day, a national event held each year in February by the American Dental Association.
Valencia partnered with dental assisting students from Orlando Vo Tech and the Dental Care Access Foundation to provide care to 80 children from the community. The goal: teach kids the basics of brushing and teach parents the value of early fluoride treatments and sealants for preventing tooth decay.
Pamela Sandy, program chair for Valencia’s Dental Hygiene program, said that most parents don’t realize that dental disease can start in children as young as six months old, when teeth first erupt, and that some pediatricians will now apply fluoride to baby teeth four times a year as part of a child’s regular check up.