GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - A smile is a powerful thing and important to every culture. However, some in Minnesota can't afford dental care, especially for their children.
The Minnesota Dental Association is doing their part, ten years running, with their Give Kids a Smile program.
A record number - 526 dentists and 2,600 dental professionals - are volunteering to provide free dental care to about 6,000 children for free February 3-4.
This free care will be provided without any qualifying income questions at 251 dentist offices and clinics to families whose children face barriers to care.
Dental Facts:
- Tooth decay is the number 1 disease in children and low income children face unnecessary barriers to care. In fact, 40 percent of uninsured children have never been to the dentist.
- A child is five times more likely to seek emergency room treatment for dental problems than for asthma, often because they can't access a dentist, are uninsured, or can't afford dental care.
- Although twice as many Americans lack dental insurance as lack health insurance, access to dental care is not viewed as being as critical as health care and is often overlooked.
- Minnesota dentists continue to be paid at one of the lowest rates in the nation for treating children on government health programs. A 2010 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Minnesota dentists are paid only 40 percent of their actual fee for providing the care, compared to 60 percent nationally.
You can learn more at MNdental.org or schedule an appointment by dialing 211, the United Way's Help Line.
(Copyright 2012 KARE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)