July 23, 2013
41 dentally underserved school aged children in the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) have new smiles after the 2013 spring semester, thanks to BBCDS dentists.
Dental care continues to be one of the greatest health needs for the local dentally uninsured/underinsured school aged population. However, generous dentists in the Boulder and surrounding community donate their time and services to help. These dentists donated more than $34,000 in care last semester to children in need. What they get in return is a smile, a card or picture from the student, and the deep satisfaction of knowing they are a community hero and have changed the life of a child in need.
The BVSD Adopt A Smile program began in 2002 as an expansion of the concept started by four local dentists in the early 1990’s who were donating professional services to children who couldn’t afford dental care. Now students can be identified through formal school dental screenings or through school nurse or staff referral from any of the 54 BVSD schools, after being assessed for eligibility for the program. The Resource Nurse Consultant works with the children and their families to identify students who qualify for the program and matches them with a participating dentist. Dentists typically commit to treating one or two children for a semester through the program.
Last semester, school dental screenings were conducted for 893 students from four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
Are you a dentist in the Boulder area who would like to become a dental hero for a child who cannot concentrate in class, eat well, or smile because of a severe dental problem? Contact Teresa Marshall, R.N., B.S.N., M.S.N., nurse resource consultant, at Teresa.Marshall@bvsd.org or 720-561-5559.
Thank you to these 25 dentists who participated in the BVSD Adopt a Smile program in the 2012/2013 school year:
- Dr. Brandi Bottoms
- Dr. Julie Brown
- Dr. Steven Buffer
- Dr. Belinda Campbell
- Dr. Brian Chudleigh
- Dr. Jill Decker
- Dr. Kristy Dhaliwal
- Dr. Mike Israelson
- Dr. Mark Jaffee
- Dr. Byford Jarvis
- Dr. Phil Harwood
- Dr. Keaton Howe
- Dr. Stephen Koral
- Dr. Ian Kott
- Dr. F. Robert Murphy
- Dr. Andrea Mustian
- Dr. Terrence Nedbalski
- Dr. Alan Reisman
- Dr. Cynthia Sheeks
- Dr. Kevin Sessa
- Dr. Paul Sica
- Dr. Thomas Simpson
- Dr. Chuck Skinner
- Dr. Corbett Summers
- Dr. David Welden