About 21 school-age children wore brighter smiles by the end of the day Friday when they left Kinston Community Health Center’s dental clinic.
The children were patients of the 10th annual “Give Kids a Smile Day,” a program launched annually on Feb. 1 nationwide by the American Dental Association since 2003.
Melanie Gallardo, 10, of La Grange said she wanted her teeth to be “clean and pretty.”
She said she felt “good” about going to the dentist because if you don’t, “then your teeth are going to get nasty, they’re going to get off of your mouth because their going to get rotten.”
Her father, Pablo Gallardo, put it a different way.
“It’s good because, right now,” he said, “they’re giving me the opportunity to keep our kids healthy, you know, in the mouth.”
He said his children’s school called and told him about the opportunity to get free dental care for his children. It had been a long while since they had dental care and Pablo Gallardo’s reaction was, “Wow!”
His son, Orlando Gallardo, 11, was getting two cavities filled in his front teeth. His dentist, Dr. Joey Pesicek, said he was being a great patient.
Pablo Gallardo’s daughter had a space maintainer, or retainer, removed. A retainer is attached to the teeth if a child’s baby teeth come in early, but should be removed when the permanent teeth start to come in, Dr. Brandon Nicholson said.
The Health Center began performing the free dental care on Give Kids a Smile Day when it began 10 years ago. Nicholson was instrumental in bringing the community program back to the center last year and organized it again this year. The emphasis these two years has been on teaching the parents about good dental hygiene habits, he said.
“As a Christian and follower of Jesus,” Nicholson said, “we were taught to use our gifts and talents to serve others and to help the needy. That’s what we’re doing here”
Some of the children, ages 5-11, have never seen a dentist, including Layla Whitfield, 6. She was beginning to get a cavity filled and was doing her best to be good so she would get a prize once the procedure was done.
“I’ve been doing very good, so far,” Whitfield said, sporting bright pink butterfly glasses.
Her mother, Angela Lewis of La Grange, said she wouldn’t have been able to take her daughter to the dentist unless it was an emergency. The cavity, small then, would only get worse, she said.
“It helped me out a lot,” Lewis said about the free dental care, “because (Whitfield) doesn’t have any dental insurance.”
Corey Chen, 10, hadn’t ever seen a dentist in the U.S., nor during his trips to China.
“They cleaned my teeth,” he said. “It feels good afterwards.” He got a squishy jelly-like worm as a prize.
His father, Min Chen of Kinston, said he received a call from the school, made an appointment and was told his son should get his teeth checked every six months.
“It’s been very good help,” he said about the free cleaning.
Fern Martin, office manager from Kinston Dental Association, was volunteering at the check-in desk. She said Feb. 1 is a day to take care of all elementary school-age children who fall in the gap between Medicaid and what a parent can afford.
Dr. Junius Rose Jr., who was instrumental in the clinics’ founding, has volunteered once a week since he retired. He said the clinic wouldn’t be nearly as large without the support of legendary local philanthropist Felix Harvey, who donated the downtown building and raised $100,000 to renovate it 15 years ago.
“It’s a two-way street,” he said about the benefits of Give Kids a Smile Day. “I get as much as the patient.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.