Columbus, Ohio — The ADA Foundation's premier philanthropic initiative, Give Kids A Smile, kicks off its 16th year Feb. 2 in the Buckeye State.
Dental students, supervised by dental faculty, at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry are expected to provide dental exams, cleanings, extractions, fillings, crowns and dental education to more than 200 underserved children on Friday at the university. Watch ADA News on ADA.org and look for the Feb. 19 print issue of ADA News for coverage.
GKAS champions: Dr. William Calnon, above, president of the ADA Foundation, and ADA President Joseph P. Crowley, below, helped kick off the 16th year of Give Kids A Smile at The Ohio State University on Feb. 1. On Feb. 2, more than 200 children are expected to receive dental care on the campus.
The Feb. 2 event launches the 2018 Give Kids A Smile program and will be followed by events across the country, from San Francisco to Boston. Each year, more than 300,000 underserved children benefit from Give Kids A Smile efforts.
"For many kids, a Give Kids A Smile event is their first real dental experience, and we want it to be a great first experience for them so that taking care of their smiles becomes a lifelong habit," said ADA President Joseph P. Crowley.
The Foundation's Give Kids A Smile program would not be possible without the support of national sponsors, including Henry Schein Dental, Colgate and KaVo Kerr. The Ohio Dental Association has also been involved in supporting the event in Columbus and other GKAS events throughout Ohio.
"Ohio State's 2018 Give Kids A Smile program is a perfect example of our profession coming together, and bringing together others who have valuable skills and talents to share, to generate better health outcomes for kids in need," said Dr. William R. Calnon, president of the ADA Foundation.
For more information about Give Kids A Smile, and to see a complete list of companies that donate supplies, visit the GKAS page and for the latest news, visit the GKAS Facebook page and follow the ADA on Twitter. To tag or follow GKAS social media posts, use the hashtag #GKAS.
The Give Kids A Smile kickoff also serves as the anchor event of the ADA's National Children's Dental Health Month. To learn more about this, visit ADA.org/NCDHM.