Giving back—and improving smiles—at Give Kids a Smile Day
The annual event brought Cleveland Metropolitan School District students to the School of Dental Medicine clinic for complimentary dental care—and a lot of smiles.
For some people, dental office waiting rooms are a place full of anxiety and apprehension. However, everyone was all smiles at the School of Dental Medicine Clinic on Friday, Nov. 7, as the school hosted its annual Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) day.
The GKAS program at Case Western Reserve University, cosponsored by the School of Dental Medicine and the Greater Cleveland Dental Society (a local chapter of the American Dental Association), provides free dental care to children from underserved areas and school districts. The dental school has participated in the nationwide initiative that launched in 2003 for over 20 years.
In addition to affording free dental services to children who may otherwise not receive them, the event is a learning opportunity for School of Dental Medicine students. Third- and fourth-year dental students, under the supervision of dental school clinicians and volunteer dentists from around the area, perform the dental work, which ranges from basic cleanings and X-rays to fillings and extractions. This year, 85 students from Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s Scranton Elementary School participated in the program.
The celebratory atmosphere at GKAS day began before the elementary-school students even entered the clinic’s waiting room. Dental students lined the stairwell as the children entered, clapping and cheering, and drawing smiles from the kids who ranged from kindergarteners to third graders.
“GKAS day provides a ‘field trip’ setting for the children,” said Ying An, DDS, a School of Dental Medicine pediatric dentistry faculty member and GKAS subcommittee chair. “Kids don’t view it as going to see the dentist.”
And it certainly wasn’t an average path to the dental chair. The Tooth Fairy, Bluey and one of the Trolls greeted the children in the waiting room while first-year dental students gathered to entertain the kids and learn more about them as they waited for their appointments.
“I lost a tooth,” 7-year-old Rayne Green told first-year dental student Ursula Pountou, as she pointed into her mouth to show where the tooth had fallen out. “But it grew back.”
“Well, that’s what we want to see,” Pountou responded with a laugh, as she tried to raise her voice to be heard over the boisterous room. “But this one won’t grow back again, so you have to take care of it.”
As Pountou chatted with Green, second-year dental students escorted other kids back for their appointments. All the children were prescreened before the event to assess the need for extractions or other advanced care and were taken to the appropriate floor depending on their treatment plans. Even though some of the kids were nervous, the dental students kept the atmosphere light as they began treatment.
“You ate breakfast, right?” joked one fourth-year student as he prepared to clean a third grader’s teeth. “You aren’t hungry, are you? OK, just want to make sure before I put my hands in your mouth.”
After their treatment, the children left the dental chair with goody bags of toothbrushes to reunite with the first-year students and watch cartoons and draw. Even as the event wound down, the dental students—both the first-year class providing entertainment and the more experienced students in the clinical roles—remained upbeat and playful with the children as they transitioned through the treatment process. The collaboration between all the dental school classes, doctors and support staff created an organized, seamless experience from start to finish.
“This is a great opportunity for the entire dental medicine clinic to rally and participate in serving kids from this school district,” An said. “They created a cheerful atmosphere for the kids, inspired them to take care of their teeth, and even introduced dentistry as a fun career for them.”
As the children left and the dental team took a collective breath, students and doctors had the opportunity to reflect on the event and their contributions. For An, it was a time to reiterate what she told her students before the day began: Even though they can’t help every student, they made a difference by helping these.
“Making an impact no matter how small [is my favorite part of GKAS] and is a living philosophy of mine,” An said. “I think it is an important message to convey to my DMD students that all of us can make an impact on people's lives.”
For Pountou, it was also an opportunity to look forward to upcoming years where she can participate in the clinical portion of the event—and to when the time comes to pick a specialty.
“I love kids, and I love giving back, so this event is amazing,” she said. “But I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to pediatric dentistry; there are so many interesting options in the field—and I don’t know if I want to deal with all the wiggling!”
