Students, faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Dentistry provided free dental services Thursday to 78 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students on National Give Kids A Smile Day. A total of 893 dental procedures worth $17,954 were performed during the service event, one of many ways UTHSC annually works to improve health in the community.
Students from Freedom Prep Academy came to campus to receive the dental screenings, teeth cleaning, and a range of other oral health services provided by fourth-year dental students under faculty supervision.
Organized in 2003 by members of the American Dental Association, National Give Kids A Smile Day was developed as a way to provide needed dental services to children, and to introduce them to careers in health care.
“Outreach is part of what we teach every dental student,” said UTHSC College of Dentistry Dean Tim Hottel, DDS. “From the onset of our participation in this national initiative, our students and faculty have performed approximately 2,200 dental procedures on more than 400 children.”
