Healthy children have one less reason to miss a day of school and have one more asset to prosper in adulthood. And dental health is a critical component of overall health. However, dentist visits are not always accessible to families living in poverty. That is why Children’s Aid is proud to be one of few health care providers to offer dental care to children while they are in school.

We send dental hygienists into our classrooms to conduct “no-touch” dental screenings. With just a flashlight, the hygienists examine each student’s mouth for signs of obvious dental disease. From there, students receive any necessary dental services at our community centers clinics or our school-based health centers. No-touch screenings have been a mainstay service in our community schools for the last seven years with significant impact.

Last year alone, 2,664 patients benefitted from dental services at our community centers and school-based health centers. And this year, thanks to our partnership with Healthplex, we will expand this work to bring no-touch dental screenings to children in dozens of schools affiliated with Children’s Aid.

In addition to screenings, our students will receive dental hygiene kits with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. These are small things, but they encourage kids to continue to practice healthy habits at home that will stay with them for a lifetime.