Dear Friend,

Thank you for being part of the KinderSmile Foundation village! We hope that you and your family are in good health. Your continued support has been truly appreciated!

Since our last Newsletter, we have continued to safely treat our patients in our Dental Homes, while complying with all recommended COVID-19 protocols. Our Dental Homes continue to increase access to oral health education and dental care for our State's most underserved populations.

Please read on to learn about our charity's expanded efforts of eradicating dental disease across New Jersey. We could not do it without all of you. #ItTakesAVillage

The Latest from KinderSmile Foundation:

Welcoming Dr. Steven Vassell

KinderSmile Foundation warmly welcomes Dr. Steven Vassell to KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center Trenton!

Dr. Vassell has been a member of the KinderSmile Foundation village and family since 2008, joining our very first global mission trip in Jamaica West Indies. At the time, Dr. Vassell was a dental hygiene student in Jamaica, and was the young student who opened the doors every morning to Northern Caribbean University Hygiene Program, the facility where free dental services were provided to the underserved community by Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes and KinderSmile Foundation volunteers.

In 2009 Dr. Vassell joined KSF's second mission trip, where we provided free dental care at Knox College Primary School in Jamaica. Through conversation, while dental assisting, KSF Board Secretary Dr. Sara Kalambur planted the seed... He should one day make his way to the United States, and go to Dental School.

Although it was a long and arduous path, with continued support and sponsorship from Dr. Nicole and encouragement from his wife Donele, he made it. After completing college for Dental Hygiene in Jamaica, joining KinderSmile Foundation on various global mission trips to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, and Haiti, and graduating with honors from New Jersey City University with a BA in Biology, Dr. Steven Vassell graduated from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in 2021.

Dr. Vassell has already improved the smiles of many Trenton residents, children and adults, and has quickly become a beloved provider at the Dental Home!

KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers

Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton

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 Home 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 Investors 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. We thank Delta Dental of NJ Foundation, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, 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, I Am Trenton, The Smith Family Foundation, NJM Insurance Group, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and First Bank Foundation for their support of our Trenton Dental Home. We extend a special appreciation to Deborah Sands Gartenberg. Thank you! 

Introduction to Dental Assisting

Nearly two years ago Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes, Founder and CEO of KinderSmile Foundation, and Dr. Jianping Wang, President of MCCC, had a vision of creating an Introduction to Dental Assisting Program in the college's James Kerney Campus in order to create more job opportunities and a doorway to the dental profession for more Black and Hispanic residents, who make up 84% of Trenton's population. Students conduct their clinical rotations at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center Trenton, gaining knowledge and practice in patient care.

We are proud of our first annual graduating class! Congratulations!

Thank you to the Mercer County Community College - Kindersmile Foundation Dental Advisory Committee members: Dr. Carolyn Breen, Dr. Gene Napoliello, Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes, Dr. Ethan Glickman, Shan Bercaw, Jessica Mulkey, Dean Gonzalo Perez, Dean Kevin Duffy, Andrea Bash, and Michelle Redd, RDH.

Smiling in the Community

KinderSmile Foundation was founded in the community and for the community, and even with the obvious 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 Trenton Coordinator Tammy Demko, RDH has been promoting our programs via Zoom calls and at tabling events at Carolyn Stokes and Mercer Street Preschools, and Trenton Soup Kitchen, in order to increase awareness and entice participation. Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes partnered with First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy at Trenton Mini Family Festival to promote oral health awareness! KSCOHC Newark's Adjo Somenou hosted oral health education and a tabling event at Funday at Unified Valisburg Services Organization (UVSO). 

With the help of Gabby Cevallos, and support from PACF Fund for Women and Girls and The Ellen and Albert Stark Foundation, we proudly began to offer our Perinatal Health and Wellness Program to the Trenton community. Our Perinatal Health and Wellness Program, now in its 4th year in Bloomfield, breaks the dangerous cycle of untreated dental diseases by empowering uninsured pregnant and recently postpartum women with informative, personal, culturally-sensitive training about the importance of maternal oral health and its impact on the developing fetus and young children under the mother’s care. Graduates of the training program earn a full year of free dental care to restore full functionality and painlessness. 

KSOHP Special Smiles Program continues with a spring semester visit to Pillar Elementary School. Our program has expanded to Trenton through a partnership with The Arc Mercer. Children and adults with special needs endure greater barriers to accessing care, and are at greater risk for dental diseases. We provide oral health education and preventive dental care to hundreds of developmentally disabled students and their caretakers, while promoting the importance of routine, self-determination, and competency in oral hygiene and nutritional habits. The program integrates a link to a dental home where quality dental care can be continued if needed.

Our Programs and Volunteer Opportunities

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 ensure that all newly implemented protocols are followed. Thank you for being a crucial part of our team, we appreciate all that you do!

Thank you to our amazing CSLP volunteers Aleksander, Allison, Aryeh, Connie, Eman, Favour, Isha, Jessica, Leslie, Lissa, Maitri, Michael, Nafisa, Nyeilla, Priya, Priyanka, Reniand, Rinal, and Sara for being a part of our team!

"I will always cherish my volunteer work at KinderSmile Foundation. I have learned so much from this opportunity. I am extremely grateful to have met & worked with a community of caring and passionate dental professionals. Thanks to my experience at KinderSmile Foundation, I am more prepared to start dental school this fall at The University of Maryland School of Dentistry!"

-Imani Armour, CSLP Volunteer 2018-2021

Dr. Lucia Arias, Dr. Forbes, Dr. Kahn, Dr. Halum, and Dr. Hudson volunteer their time and professional talent, and treat uninsured patients at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers Bloomfield and Trenton, as part of our Give Back a Smile Program. Thank you!

Congratulations to the following CSLP student volunteers

for their recent acceptances:

Maitri Patel - The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine

Gabriela Ortiz - Kean University

Special Education - Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism Spectrum Disorders Masters Program

Good luck! We are proud of 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

This summer we count our blessings, as we have been lucky to continue to serve the community through a challenging global pandemic. Economic and racial disparities in our society have been brought to the forefront by this pandemic. We are truly grateful to our donors, grantors, volunteers, and friends who are all part of the KinderSmile Foundation "village." 

Thank you for helping us achieve our mission to provide access to oral health care and ensure that every child has access to a dentist! Together, we can work towards eradicating preventable dental disease. We couldn't do it without all of you!

Blessings,

Nicole McGrath-Barnes, DDS, FACD

Founder & CEO

KinderSmile Foundation

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