Area Dentists, University of Detroit Mercy Team Up to Provide Free Dental Care to Low-Income, Uninsured Detroit-Area Children on Saturday, ...( United Way for Southeastern Michi...),Health

United Way for Southeastern Michigan Screens Patients

DETROIT, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- February is National Children's Dental Health Month and on Saturday, February 2, over 500 children from the Detroit metropolitan area will receive free dental care. It's part of the American Dental Association's sixth annual "Give Kids a Smile" campaign where dentists around the U.S. donate their services that day to children who, because of economic reasons, don't have access to dental care.

Nearly 80 Michigan Dental Association dentists from Detroit, Oakland and Macomb dental societies have teamed up with the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry to provide care ranging from cleanings, X-rays, fillings and other necessary treatment.

So far nearly 550 children have been scheduled for treatment on Saturday Feb. 2, at the school's new dental facility at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in the Corktown Campus. For the first time, the dental societies have teamed up with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan 211 call center to schedule appointments. Appointments for treatment will be accepted through Friday for children between the ages of 4 and 18 who are not covered by dental insurance and live in Detroit, Oakland, Macomb or Wayne county.

Michigan Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr, (D--Clio), will be at the event at 8 a.m. Saturday to attend the volunteers' briefing and see the new dental school

"We realize there are thousands of disadvantaged children in Michigan who are not able to receive regular dental care," said Lloyd Lariscy, DDS, MS, chairman of the "Give Kids a Smile" event.

"While 'Give Kids a Smile' day will help some children get the dental care they desperately need, I worry about the thousands of children who aren't here today -- the ones who continue to have trouble eating, sleeping and paying attention in school because their teeth hurt and are in such bad shape," said Lariscy.

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