April 13, 2004

By: Savio Lewis
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Free Dental Treatments – Hundreds Of Children Receive Free Dental Treatments

Hundreds of children who might have otherwise gone without received free fluoride treatments at the Honolulu Zoo today. The Hawaii Family Dental Centers and The Hawai`i Uninsured Project hosted SmileFest 2002 at the zoo to celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month in February. The free event was held to promote dental health among Hawaii’s keiki.

Hawaii is known as the health state, but our teeth are the worst in the nation, said Dr. Gary Kondo, President of Hawaii Dental Group. Based on Hawaii’s current situation, it has become apparent that there is a great need for the community as a whole to educate and assist families and children who have difficulty receiving the basic necessary dental care and to do what it can until the barriers can be lowered, Kondo added.

A major barrier for many who cannot afford basic dental care is lack of insurance, said Andrew Aoki, Executive Administrator of the HMSA Foundation. We must all work together toward a solution to this problem as it affects all of us. In fact, research has shown that many parents use the emergency room to obtain primary dental care for their children, even though simple preventive checkups could have headed off the advanced problems often seen under those circumstances, making treatment less expensive. This results in a severe financial impact on the state and ultimately on the taxpayer, Aoki added.

Dental health among Hawaii’s children is significantly worse than the rest of the nation. This campaign attempts to reach children throughout the state with a great need for dental health assistance because of their high rates of tooth decay. The facts about dental health in Hawaii help illustrate the need for long-term solutions to this serious problem…

• Our children have the worst dental health in the nation, with double the number of cavities, three times the rate of baby bottle tooth decay, and a third more unmet treatment needs. Filipino, Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Korean children have cavity rates three times the national average.
• At least 350,000 Hawaii residents are uninsured for dental care and another 75,000 children have inadequate access because their benefits are covered under Medicaid or QUEST. These numbers add up to more than one third of the state’s population.
• Hawaii has 10 federally designated dental health professional shortage areas where about 190,000 people live.

We hope the SmileFest campaign helped those who are economically disadvantaged have access to the basic care and education provided to all other children, helping to prevent the negative impact that untreated tooth decay can have on a child’s ability to eat, sleep, speak and learn, said Aoki.

In addition to fluoride treatments thousands received free toothbrushes and dental health and nutrition information at the event. Families also enjoyed free entertainment at the event with rides, games, clowns, magicians, prizes and giveaways. About 36,000 passes were handed out for free admission to the zoo prior to the event.

Author Notes:

Savio Lewis contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!