The Latest from KinderSmile Foundation:

We are grateful to the ADA, NJDA, The Delta Dental of NJ Foundation, and all of our professional and Community Service Learning Program volunteers who took part in this month-long GKAS event. Over 80% of the children living at or below the Federal Poverty Level are at risk to suffer from dental diseases that are easily preventable. Currently in New Jersey there are 90,000 uninsured children, many due to immigration status. KSF's Give Kids a Smile events proudly provided access to care to many of them.

 

KSCOHC Bloomfield has continued to provide access to care to thousands of at-risk youth in Essex county and vicinity, providing a link to one of the only Dental Homes in the area where uninsured children and perinatal mothers could get free or affordable care. We are grateful to The Delta Dental of NJ Foundation,  The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Partners for Health Foundation, The Montclair Foundation, and Hyde and Watson Foundation for their continued support!

 

KSCOHC Newark, located at The Boys and Girls Club of Newark is open to Club members and the community, and had been thriving, providing care to underserved youth in this medically underserved city. During Give Kids a Smile Month, the Boys and Girls Club of Newark provided oral health education to an additional 281 children! We thank The Delta Dental of NJ Foundation, Dr. Michael Gruber, and The MCJ Amelior Foundation for supporting this Dental Home.

 

KSCOHC Trenton provides quality comprehensive dental care for underserved and uninsured adults and children alike. With over 85,000 residents, where 63% of children are insured by Medicaid/NJ FamilyCare, and many are entirely uninsured, Trenton is designated as medically underserved. We are grateful to The George H. and Estelle M. Sands Foundation, The Princeton Area Community Foundation, The Burke Foundation, Delta Dental of NJ Foundation, PACF Fund for Women and Girls, I Am Trenton, and The Smith Family Foundation, for their support of our Trenton Dental Home. We extend a special appreciation to Deborah Sands Gartenberg. Thank you! 

Smiling in the Community

KinderSmile Foundation was founded in the community and for the community, and despite the COVID-19 challenges we are excited to return to our partners! Thank you to Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation, AAPD Foundation, Summit Foundation, Overlook Foundation, and Partners for Health Foundation for supporting KinderSmile Oral Health Program (KSOHP).

 

CSLP volunteer Priya Vaid conducted multiple virtual oral health education sessions to over 400 Belleville PreK students, parents, caretakers, and staff, as well as to UTCAO (Union Township Community Action Organization, Inc.

 

KSOHP continued its visits to GRACE Summit, with Board Member Dorrie Gagnon, RDH. GRACE is a community organization dedicated to helping Summit residents in need. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, they have been consistently serving more than 500 families per week. KSF's GRACE visits include oral health education, diagnostic, and preventive dental care for the uninsured, linking patients back to our Bloomfield Dental Home for comprehensive care when needed. Thank you to The Summit Foundation and Overlook Foundation for sponsoring this important project. 

 

KSOHP Trenton is continuing with Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes' dental care offsite visits to Saint Bartholomew Head Start Program and Foundation Academy Charter school.

 

KinderSmile Perinatal Health and Wellness Program is flourishing in Trenton, with newly trained coordinator and educator Alaiya. PHWP breaks the dangerous cycle of untreated dental diseases by empowering uninsured mothers, from pregnancy to three years postpartum, with informative, personal, culturally-sensitive training about the importance of maternal oral health and its impact on the developing fetus and young children. 

 

Graduates of the training program earn a full year of free dental care to restore their smiles to full functionality and painlessness. KSF strives to reduce racial disparities and inequities in oral health care access by linking the mothers and their young children to a barrier-free Dental Home.

 

Thank you to The PACF Fund for Women and Girls, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Bristol Myers-Squibb Foundation for sponsoring our Trenton PHWP moms.

 

KSF hosted Give Back a Smile volunteer dentist Dr. Julia Guerrier for book readings and signing events at KSCOHC Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton. Dr. Julia promoted her children's book Shark Teeth, which celebrates children's imagination, clarifies a common dental issue, and encourages  regular dental visits.

KinderSmile Community Service Learning Program perseveres. In addition to shadowing and assisting providers and staff, our volunteers greet our patients, screen for COVID-19 symptoms, and provide oral health and nutritional education. Thank you for being a crucial part of our team, we appreciate all that you do!

Thank you to our amazing CSLP volunteers  Aaron, Ahmad, Akriti, Allyson, Ashley, Christine, Isha, Jacob, Jihad, Katie, Lucah, Mauravi, Michael, Nafisa, Priya, Shraddha, Simran, Thomas, Vlera, and Zeynep for being a part of our team!

 

KinderSmile Foundation hosted Montclair State University students for their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Students were led by CSLP ambassador Zeynep, as she introduced the program, assigned duties, and helped with task completion. Thank you!

 

We are grateful to the wonderful Give Back a Smile professionals who volunteered at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers of Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton during Give Kids a Smile Month, February 2022.

Thank you to Dr. Paul Feldman, Dr. Julia Guerrier, Dr. Kaitlyn Terry, Dr. Ayanna Bradshaw, Dr. Dawn Forbes, Dr. Katheryn Goldman, Dr. Richard Kahn, Natalia Gutt, RDH, Denise Suguiama Camara, RDH, and Melka Argaw, RDH. Thank you!

KSOHP - KinderSmile Oral Health Program

Bringing oral health education and preventive dental care to schools & community events
PHWP - Perinatal Health & Wellness Program
Promoting maternal oral health and dental care during pregnancy and early childhood
CSLP - Community Service Learning Program
Youth mentorship through volunteer work & internships
GBAS - Give Back A Smile
Volunteer opportunities for dental professionals