Philly kids get dental exams
Smiles are a little brighter in Philadelphia today. Public Citizens for Children and Youth and partners organized a day of free dental care Thursday including examinations, cleanings and fluoride treatments.
Smiles are a little brighter in Philadelphia today. Public Citizens for Children and Youth and partners organized a day of free dental care Thursday including examinations, cleanings and fluoride treatments.
Colleen McCauley is the group’s health policy director.
McCauley: Kids are going to get good preventive care today and we hope that they find a dental home, that if they like the care that they got today that they’ll return in six months, and continue to get good oral health care which also impacts their overall health.
Regular dental care is provided through both Medicaid and the state-sponsored Children’s Health Insurance program. But McCauley says in Philadelphia only about one-third of kids on Medicaid see a dentist every year.
More than 600 children were scheduled for a check-up
McCauley: A lot of time parents don’t know where to go. Especially parents who have Medicaid coverage and CHIP coverage, unfortunately there are fewer dentists who participate in Medicaid. So this is a chance to identify those providers, so the kids can get in and get the care that they need.
About two dozen dental offices provided services.
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