Public health district to offer free day of dental care to children and teens

POCATELLO — A public health district will be offering a free day of dental care for children next week.

Southeast Idaho Public Health is holding its “Give Kids a Smile” event, when children and teenagers up to age fourteen can receive dental cleanings, fluoride varnish and more. The event, attended by appointment only, will be on Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Idaho State University Dental Hygiene Clinic.

“There’s no shame in coming into this program because that’s what we’re doing it for. It’s meant to help families and help our community so we can all have happy and healthy smiles,” said April Sluder, the SIPH Oral Health Program Coordinator.

Only preventative dental care, like a tooth cleaning, will be done at the event. But children who come in with one or more cavities will be referred to a dentist to have those filled, which is also free of charge.

People who do not have dental insurance or have a limited access to dental care can call Dana Solomon at 208-239-5256 to schedule an appointment. Sluder said that every year they plan for about 100 children to attend, and appointments are filling up.

“If they’re thinking about calling, they should do it as soon as they can,” Sluder said.

“Give Kids a Smile” is a national event through the American Dental Association, but not every public health district offers a free day of dental care. Some districts focus on education about dental care, which was what SIPH did when it first started doing the national event around 20 years ago.

The health district has been offering a free dental care day for kids for around 11 years now. Sluder said this day is important because for some families, this is the only day of the year when their children can access dental care.

“This annual event is so important for these families because they don’t have to worry about that financial side at all. It’s all covered,” Sluder said.

For one local grandmother who has taken her grandchildren to the day of free dental care, they would face further financial hardships if they didn’t have access to it.

Judy, who asked that her last name not be used, is a grandmother of a 16-year-old girl and 11-year-old twin girls. She has taken them to “Give Kids a Smile” for four to five years now. The kids’ father works full-time, but doesn’t have his children on insurance because he can’t afford it.

“They’ve had their teeth cleaned every single year. They’ve had fluoride treatments every single year and I am just so grateful,” Judy said.

While dental hygiene is often goes overlooked, Sluder said it’s an important aspect of a person’s overall health. If someone’s teeth are taken care of, Boodry said their whole body will feel better.

“Overall health is not health unless you have oral health as well,” Sluder said. “So they’re completely connected.”

If someone isn’t taking care of their teeth, they can get a cavity, or several. If left untreated, that cavity can become an abscess, or an infection.

“That infection that we can get in our mouth, it can travel throughout our body, but it can also go to our brain and can be fatal as well,” Sluder said.

And when a child is experiencing tooth pain, they have trouble focusing or even lose time in school and have behavioral issues.

While it’s important for children to be taking care of their teeth by brushing twice a day, flossing once and having a healthy diet that includes enough water, it’s also important for them to see the dentist at least once a year.

“We can take X-rays and really look and make sure everything’s okay. I think a lot of families think that they don’t see anything, so it’s ok, but there’s a lot of concerns in between the teeth too that we can’t see clinically,” Sluder said.

Kids can be brushing their teeth everyday and still see cavities develop. Judy has seen just that with her grandchildren, where one has had multiple cavities while the other hasn’t even though they brush their teeth at the same time everyday.

Judy worries that there are parents who don’t take advantage of the day of free dental care.

“I’m sure there’s tons of people not reaching (out),” Judy said. “I would encourage anybody that’s kids don’t have dental coverage to do it.”