AURORA | Even with dental insurance, the cost of care can be too much for Norma Rodriguez and her five children.
“It’s $70 for every child, every time we go in,” the single mother from Aurora said.
That pushes her budget too far for simple cleanings and routine care, which is why Rodriguez brought her family to the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora on Feb. 6. The school hosted its eighth annual Give Kids a Smile Day as part of a larger national campaign to offer free dental care for communities.
Dr. Elizabeth Shick said officials invited 18 neighboring dentists to practice at the school for the day, alongside about 50 third-year dental students at the school. Roughly $60,000 in free care was administered by dentists at the school.
“We do it every year here at the school. We invite (neighboring dentists) all here, give them breakfast and lunch, book their appointments to do this every year,” said Shick.
The day is held every year in the first week of February, Shick said. Nationwide, the American Dental Association promotes and plans the event and in the state, the Colorado Dental Association helps find community dentists and coordinates the event.
More than 160 patients will be seen during the day, Shick said. The care can range from simple cleaning to fillings and restorative dental work. Although most of the dental work done throughout the day is routine, Shick said a volunteer oral surgeon was on call for trickier work.
“We have the ability to do just about anything today,” she said.
According to the school, nearly 60 percent of low-income kindergartners have tooth decay and for more than 25 percent of those children, the decay goes untreated.
Shick said the day was important to teach children and others that dental work isn’t really painful, and that routine visits can actually be fun. Norma Rodriguez’s 10-year-old son Christian agreed.
The Laredo Elementary School fifth grader said his routine cleaning went well and he enjoyed talking with his dentist, Chris, about going to school.
“He asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told him that I wanted to take care of old people,” Christian said. “He told me to think about becoming a dentist.
“I’ll think about it.”