USC Neighborhood Mobile Clinic Visits Underserved Children

Los Angeles, Calif. — The USC School of Dentistry Neighborhood Mobile Clinic rolled up to 10th Street Elementary School to provide free screenings, sealants and classroom instruction to more than 500 students on Give Kids a Smile Day, Friday, February 1.

Give Kids a Smile Day, the American Dental Association’s annual program to increase awareness of and expand access to children’s oral health care, is in its sixth year. The program addresses the ongoing challenges that low-income and disabled children face in accessing dental care.

Tooth decay is one of the most prevalent childhood diseases; it is five times more common than asthma and just as debilitating. Untreated, infections as a result of decay can be fatal. Last February, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver from Maryland lost his life after developing a serious infection in his brain, caused by an abscessed tooth.

“We know that not all children are at equal risk. Children in poverty are twice as likely as their wealthier peers to develop cavities. America has never promised its children success, but it has always promised them opportunity. Children who suffer from tooth decay are often denied this opportunity because of dental pain that limits their ability to eat, sleep or learn,” says Dean Harold Slavkin, USC School of Dentistry.

Sixty dental students and faculty from USC screened the students from 10th Street Elementary, located near the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. The dental school has a long history of community outreach and service and uses the annual event to partner with local schools and clinics to provide basic dental services to underserved communities. Since 2000, more than 300,000 children and adults have received oral care services offered through its community outreach programs across the state. The Neighborhood Mobile Clinic provides education and preventive dental care to underserved schoolchildren in communities surrounding the university campus.

“Our students’ health makes a huge difference in their academic achievements, yet many children in our schools lack even the most basic dental care,” said School Board President Monica Garcia. “LAUSD is happy to be partnering with the USC School of Dentistry as we have done in the past to provide students with free education and services in order to begin addressing this critical need.”

Also participating in the event are several local dentists serving the Pico Union area, who have volunteered to take on the cases of children requiring follow-up care free of cost. This year, the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation will provide funding that will be used to cover treatment for some of the children identified as having serious oral care needs. L.A. Vista Family Health Center, which serves northeast L.A. and surrounding communities, was on site as well to speak to families about Healthy Families, the Los Angeles Public Private Partnership (LA PPP) and other health-related programs. The LA PPP is a program funded by the county that provides child and adult dental care to low-income families. The L.A. Care Health Plan provided $150,000 in funding this year for the USC Neighborhood Mobile Clinic — Sealant Program.

Contact: Angelica Urquijo at (213) 740-6568 (office) or (213) 271-4189 (cell)