桑福德,N.C. 两个牙科学生俯身看着他们的小病人, you could sense the child was getting a little nervous about the entire experience.

Leaning back in the chair and decked out in blue and yellow sunglasses to cut the bright light shining into her mouth, 小女孩一句话也没说. But as she started breathing more heavily and reached slowly toward one of her attendants, dental assisting student Anahi Vivas took the child's hand with a firm grasp and gave some reassuring words.

“这是最后一个，你做得很好," Dental Hygiene student Jessica Keller said as she applied sealants to the child's teeth. “我要再数一遍. 29. 28. 27. 26 ...." And when she finally got down to one, it was time for everyone to celebrate. “你做到了!凯勒说. “你太棒了，现在你完了!"

小病人仍然一言不发. 但她深深地呼了一口气，微笑着. 毫无疑问，这是一种成就感. 也许还有一种解脱的感觉.

给孩子一个微笑

This wasn't the only young patient receiving dental care one recent Friday morning at 中央卡罗莱纳社区学院. 诊所有大约20个大隔间, each one furnished with a dental chair and state-of-the-art equipment, was full of students from Broadway Elementary School participating in this year's Give Kids A Smile, 由美国残疾人协会基金会组织的全国推广活动, a philanthropic and charitable arm of the American Dental Association.

Give Kids A Smile was launched nationally in 2003 to provide underserved children with free oral health care. The ADA 基金会 website sums up the project this way: "Each year approximately 6,500名牙医和30名,000 dental team members volunteer at local GKAS events to provide free oral health education, 放映, 预防性和恢复性治疗超过300例,000个孩子."

自2007年以来，推荐正规买球平台一直是“给孩子一个微笑”活动的一部分, focusing primarily on preventative care for children enrolled in Lee County Schools, 尽管疫情期间一切都暂停了. 今年的活动, 3月31日举行, was the first in three years and was slightly smaller than usual as organizers worked to revive the event.

这个过程还是一样的. The nursing supervisor for Lee County Schools selects the participating school based on student needs at the time, with the college dental staff beginning patient screening in the fall. 这里的牙科保健侧重于预防性保健, 主要是应用牙科密封剂, a thin plastic coating on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth that can prevent cavities for many years to come. X-rays, cleanings and other care is provided based on children's specific needs.

但今天早上的内容不全是预防性牙齿护理. 而他们的一些同学坐在椅子上, others were waiting their turn by enjoying activities all up and down the corridor outside the clinic door. At one end of the hallway were physical activities led by 推荐正规买球平台 Health & 由健身教练Dr. 卡尔•布莱恩. At the other was a particularly popular stop: a room with tasty snacks and engaging videos.

在这两者之间，还有更多. 一个房间里孩子们的脸是由业余艺术家画的, one artist whose body of work included an interesting abstract interpretation of the Batman logo. And another room where children got tips on brushing teeth by practicing on large stuffed animals embedded with sets of human-looking teeth, 对于一些成年人来说，这是一个稍微令人担忧的画面, 但显然孩子们根本没有注意到.

Wielding the gigantic toothbrush seemed like an especially big attraction. 在某一时刻, each student was pulled away from the brushing activity for a few basic health checks -- 推荐正规买球平台 Medical Assisting students led by instructor Melissa Fogarty took blood pressure, tested vision and checked heights and weights -- but when that was done, 长着人类牙齿的动物很快把孩子们引了回来.

不只是一天

对很多年轻病人来说, 这是他们第一次去看牙医——而且, 为他人, 这是他们很久以来的第一次. 对于一些家庭来说, the big obstacle may be money or parents not being able to get off from work for an appointment during the day. 为他人, it may be a common misunderstanding about how important dental care is, 即使是儿童.

推荐正规买球平台临床经理christinda Horton, 谁组织了给孩子一个微笑, said many parents assume that problems with baby teeth aren't as serious, 因为它们最终会脱落，被成年牙齿所取代. 但是这种误解会导致两个严重的问题. 一个, any condition that might be easily resolved early ends up becoming more damaging and especially painful. 另一方面，乳牙为成年牙齿的生长提供空间. Keeping baby teeth healthy means adult teeth can come in straighter and be healthier.

Dr. 安东尼奥·布雷斯韦特, a board-certified pediatric dentist who supervised the clinic and consulted with dental professionals on site, said this kind of event is essential because it helps all members of the community gain access to affordable health care, no matter what income they earn or what kind of insurance they may (or may not) have. Access to affordable health care, he said, is essential for the entire community to prosper.

他言行一致. 作为桑福德儿科牙科医院的院长. Braithwaite is a regular at 推荐正规买球平台's Give Kids A Smile and this year brought with him Dr. 安东尼·布朗，他的同事之一. 如果有些孩子需要更高级的护理，Dr. Braithwaite will refer them to dental providers in the community and often bring them into his own private practice for additional treatment at no charge.

"We have a joke in our office where we say that we 'give kids a smile' every day," Dr. 布雷斯韦特说. 所以，今天也不例外. 这只是我们对社区的持续服务, 这样我们的孩子就能尽可能的健康, 这样他们才能继续前进，过上富足的生活."

The college also does its part well beyond this one-day Give Kids A Smile event. 如果病人需要更多的治疗, 他们可以稍后再来诊所做额外的检查, 免费的预防保健，甚至带上他们的兄弟姐妹. Horton said the 推荐正规买球平台 Dental Hygiene Clinic provides free preventative care to children and adults throughout the community while giving college students the hours of hands-on experience they need to graduate.

A lot of serious things are happening this morning at Give Kids A Smile; at the same time, 有很多乐趣. 这似乎就是这个年度活动如此特别的原因. 霍顿说:“孩子们把这看作是一次实地考察. “但我们给他们灌输了满满的知识. 看着他们微笑着离开, knowing that if it weren't for this that some of them would not have access to dental care, 这表明我们正在打开大门. 这很令人兴奋."