Donate
The staff at KinderSmile Oral Health Center in Bloomfield, New Jersey are passionate about providing dental care for children who would otherwise fall through the cracks. Like America’s ToothFairy, they envision a future where every child has access to a dentist and preventable dental diseases are eradicated. That’s why they were especially concerned about Millie.
Her parents had noticed cavities forming in the five year-old’s teeth but they had put off seeking treatment. Since they didn’t qualify for Medicaid but still couldn’t afford a private dental plan, they hoped her baby teeth would fall out before the decay became a serious issue. Unfortunately, Millie began to complain about pain, especially at bedtime. Millie’s parents brought her to KinderSmile expecting to have the troublesome teeth pulled.
While she was there, the dental team provided Millie with a free cleaning, exam, fluoride, caries risk assessment, oral health education, and nutritional education. They discovered rampant decay on 13 of her teeth, including two that would require pulpotomies and crowns. They convinced Millie’s parents that her teeth were essential to her overall health and development. Then they reached out to America’s ToothFairy for help.
With help from an In the Gap grant sponsored by MGE: Management Experts, KinderSmile provided the care Millie needed to restore her smile to good health. Equally important, now Millie has a dental home where she can receive routine and preventive dental services. Her family has been empowered to avoid future decay. Because of this, Millie has a better chance of growing up with a smile she can share with the world—a smile that will help open more doors of opportunity for future success!
Can you give to help more kids like Millie? Visit our In the Gap program page to learn more.
*Patient's name has been changed to protect their privacy. Not all grantees have provided photos. In some cases, stock photos are used to represent a patient’s gender, age and ethnicity if known.
