Volunteers and Dental Companies Deliver Care to Underserved Children Across the United States

Volunteers and Dental Companies Deliver Care to Underserved

Children Across the United States

Working with the American Dental Association to guarantee that young people in

need have access to care, DEXISTM, Henry Schein Dental^® and Colgate^® provide

assistance for Give Kids A Smile^® for the 12th consecutive year.

Michele Penrose, Director of Global Professional Relations & Development for Henry Schein Inc.; Candy

Ross, Director of Industry and Professional Relations, Dental Technologies, North America for KaVo Kerr

Group; and Nicole Stoufflet Catral, RDJ, MS, Manager, Health Education at the ADA’s Corporate Relations &

Strategic Marketing Alliances Office of the Executive Director.

 

19 February 2015 — As long-time advocates of oral health, DEXIS, a member of KaVo Kerr Group, Henry

Schein Dental and Colgate are proud to announce their ongoing support of the American Dental

Association’s Give Kids A Smile^® (GKAS) program. Launched with the mission to demonstrate dentistry’s

commitment to addressing access to care issues; raise awareness of the high levels of oral disease among

children, primarily from low income families; and urge policymakers to increase funding for children’s oral

health, GKAS events enable volunteer dental teams across the country to provide free dental care,

screenings and education to children in need.

Coinciding with the start of the ADA^®‘s National Children’s Dental Health Month^® (NCDHM), the first

Friday in February heralds the kickoff for the GKAS program that delivers dental care to children all over the

country. Services from X-rays and cleanings to restorative and oral surgery, are provided to hundreds of

thousands of kids that may otherwise go untreated.

Once held for a single weekend, GKAS events now begin in the first week of February and continue for

months thereafter, thus increasing the number of children that can be accommodated. Because of the

generosity of volunteers and corporate partners, 2015 participation —recorded as of Thursday, February 19,

2015 — includes 1,405 events, an estimated 329,000 children served, 8,000 participating dentists and an

additional 25,768 volunteers.

Originally held as a single event in one location, St. Louis, Mo., volunteers treated 400 children. DEXIS was

one of the founding sponsors of GKAS. Dr. Jeff Dalin, a long-time DEXIS owner and founder of GKAS in St.

Louis, was instrumental in getting DEXIS on board with the ADA. GKAS now falls under the broader efforts

of the ADA Foundation.

“The company felt then, and continues to believe today, that it is our corporate responsibility to give back

to the profession. It has been so rewarding to work with the ADA on such a worthy cause,” stated Candy

Ross, Director of Industry and Professional Relations, Dental Technologies, North America for KaVo Kerr

Group; long-standing member of the GKAS Advisory Committee; and VP of Grants for the ADA Foundation

Executive Committee. “I feel very fortunate to work with a company that not only supports my role on the

boards of these wonderful organizations, but supports the activities they make possible.”

Since the inception of GKAS, the ADA reports that more than 4.2 million children have received treatment

to improve their oral and general health through its efforts.

For more information on the GKAS program, including the latest statistics, information on its background

and sponsors, and how to volunteer, visit www.ada.org.

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