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With this generous donation, we can continue to search for new and innovative ways to reach children and their families and create lasting change. One of the programs we can continue expanding is Full Cycle Dentistry. Full Cycle Dentistry stands for the initiatives that Healthy Smiles has believed in since our inception: Prevention, Outreach, Education, and Teledentistry. We believe that every child deserves a healthy smile and that we should bring education, preventive services, and restorative treatment to easily accessible community sites in order to break down barriers to care.

Thanks to donations from foundations like the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, we can continue to improve the oral health of children in Orange County. Every dollar spent for this program goes towards helping us provide outreach, education, preventive and restorative dental services to children in our underserved communities!

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By providing restorative treatment on the mobiles, Healthy Smiles has been able to overcome transportation barriers and treat more patients. This has allowed us to significantly decrease the wait time for patients to schedule an appointment. Summer is a busy season and we are so happy to provide more accommodations for families outside of our Garden Grove clinic. We will continue to reach out and help children achieve healthier smiles in the upcoming year!

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This event was an occasion for the whole family, with several organizations and families attending! The fair was an excellent opportunity for families to prepare for the school year by receiving school supplies and oral health education and screenings. We screened more than 20 patients and educated 20 children and 13 parents. While educating the parents, we were able to set up and showcase our teledentistry units in a classroom.These mobile units allow us to provide preventative oral health services at various sites in Orange County. By showing the parents our mobile units, they were able to learn more about teledentistry and know what to expect when we visit their children’s schools.

Living in a motel brings a unique set of challenges and we are so glad we can attend outreach events like this one to help the community. It is very important that families continue to receive good oral health care regardless of their housing situation. We had a wonderful time at this event and wish all the children a fantastic school year!

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Our dental hygienists are helping facilitate this program by providing full dental check-ups, which include cleanings, fluoride, and x-rays. Once the preventative services are complete, the x-rays and images are sent to a dentist who will create a treatment plan. If restorative treatment is needed, the patients will receive services from our dentists at our clinic or Smile Mobiles. If no further treatment is needed, they are set for the next six months!

This program has been greeted with open arms and been a huge success in such a short amount of time. In just two months, we have been able to treat almost 300 patients and we are estimating to see at least 400 more this summer! We have successfully created a safe space in our center for patients to feel comfortable and receive treatment. This initiative is a step in the right direction and will help us achieve our goal of helping 1,000,000 families by the year 2020!

We will still be providing education services and prizes in our lobby. Our patients can redeem their brushing and flossing calendars for Tooth Fairy Bucks! These bucks can then be exchanged for fun toys and games! So, make sure you stop by and visit Martha on your way out of the clinic!

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By partnering with Mercy House, we were able to visit one of their locations with our team of hygienists and care coordinators to treat the children staying at their shelter. With our portable equipment, we were able to provide oral health screenings to 14 patients and half of those patients returned the following week for additional treatments, including x-rays, cleanings, and sealants. Our offsite dentists were able to create treatment plans after receiving the x-rays and images, allowing us to care for patients directly in the shelter.

One of the families we treated left a memorable impression on us. Zoe, Tyler, and Cadan all used to be patients at our Garden Grove clinic. However, after losing their house and means of transportation, visiting the dentist became an obstacle. The family has been in this situation for about 5 years now and is currently staying at Mercy House while they wait to receive government housing. At the shelter, we were able to set up a mobile dental station and treat all three siblings. Surprisingly, the eldest sibling, Zoe, was willing to see our hygienist despite having a bad experience at the dentist’s office when she was younger and refusing to go back for many years. All three of the siblings did a great job, even three-year-old Cadan, who was a model patient with a great attitude.

We are so happy that we were able to help treat patients like Zoe, Tyler, and Cadan. We are grateful to Mercy House for letting us come in and provide dental services to the families staying there. Due to our amazing staff, we can continue offering teledentistry services to 120 school and community sites in Orange County. We look forward to collaborating with Mercy House again in the future.

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When Ria was recruited to lead Healthy Smiles, she was excited, yet filled with countless questions. Fortunately, she was referred to Fieldstone Leadership Network and through this organization, she was able to better understand the inner workings of a nonprofit. Ria used this knowledge to change the dynamic at Healthy Smiles. Under Ria’s leadership, the organization grew from 35 employees to 140 experienced, cross-trained employees.

Despite the misconception that nonprofits can’t afford to invest in their employees, Healthy Smiles continues to grow. Healthy Smiles provides screenings and dental care at over 500 community events a year and will service more than 120 school and community sites in FY 19/20. None of this incredible work would be possible without the support of our wonderful staff who always goes above and beyond to help those in need. Ria has recruited some of the most qualified people to serve on our board and provide insight into their respective fields and continues to make time to help each employee achieve their career goals. Ria continues to emphasize the value of leadership and motivation in the workplace!

As we begin to finalize our agenda for 2020 and plan for 2021, we continue to prioritize team-building, leadership training, and mentoring. With these skills, we can touch the lives of 100,000 families each year and meet our mission of helping 1,000,000 children and families by 2020!

Thank you, Fieldstone Leadership Network, for allowing us to share our story with other nonprofits in the community. We also want to thank Jenny Sanchez and Stephanie Rebollar for speaking about their unique experiences at HSK. We are so grateful for all that you do!

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On Friday, February 1, Healthy Smiles team members greeted patients with “Today is Give Kids a Smile day!”

“What’s that?” asked Nour Hassan, mother to 8-year-old Hamzeh, who was sitting in one of the dental chairs at the Healthy Smiles clinic in Garden Grove.

Give Kids a Smile is a day of service dedicated to providing free screenings and dental services for low-income and uninsured children. A dental cleaning for children alone costs about $75 with no insurance. Fortunately, every year, thousands of children are able to receive proper dental care because of the Give Kids a Smile program.

On this day, 45 patients were provided services ranging from preventive and restorative care such as fluoride, x-rays, cleaning, fillings, extractions, sealants and root canals.

“We’re proud to participate every year in this national initiative that allows us to join forces with other health professionals across the nation,” said Clinic Operations Manager, Darline Torres. “We [dental clinics] may be located in different areas but we all have the same mission to improve access too much needed dental care to those who are not otherwise able to.”

After patients finished their treatment, they participated in several activities such as drawing, learning about healthy snacks, and exercising in the Tooth Fairy Learning Center to help promote oral health with overall health.

Patients also received a free Give Kids a Smile goody-bag that included a toothbrush, timer, toothpaste and floss.

“If today is Give Kids a Smile day, then I’m happy I came!” said Hamzeh.

To continue raising awareness about children oral health, follow Healthy Smiles on social media for National Children’s Dental Health Month.

**Healthy Smiles is proud to participate in Give Kids a Smile day, however, Healthy Smiles does provide free and low-cost services for uninsured and Medi-Cal recipients throughout the year. Please call (714) 510- 3837 for more information.**

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Beginning in February of this year, students at Heroes Elementary School in Santa Ana will be able to get their teeth cleaned on campus. Through our Smiles X-Press Teledentistry program, students that qualify for Denti-Cal – an extension of the Medi-Cal program for dental services – will receive full professional cleanings, x-rays, fluoride, and other preventative services in the convenience of their own classroom.

In the United States, over 51 million school hours are lost due to dental pain and a toothache is the number one reason for avoidable emergency room visits. With Smiles X-Press, children can receive much-needed dental services in their own classroom and miss less than an hour of instruction time.

“I am very excited about this opportunity for our students to receive much needed dental care in the comfort of a familiar classroom here at Heroes. We hope to show them there is no need to be afraid of the dentist,” said Rebecca Churnside, Principal of Heroes Elementary.

Heroes Elementary School will be the 18th school in Orange County to offer Smiles X-Press. Smiles X-Press also is available at three CHOC pediatric sites in Orange County.

To kick-off the program, Healthy Smiles invited teachers, parents, and students to informational sessions.

During the parent session, parents learned about how reducing sugar-sweetened beverages can help with preventing cavities. They also received free toothbrushes to take home.

Recently, Healthy Smiles educator Jazmin Ayala visited classrooms to teach children how to take care of their teeth, including important brushing and flossing tips. For some students, it was their first time learning about oral health.

“Prevention and education is a strong component of the program,” said Stephanie Rebollar, Associate Director of Teledentistry. “Before we start treating students it’s important for us to instruct them on what to expect at their appointment including introducing them to the Healthy Smiles dental team.”

Students at Heroes Elementary will continue receiving oral health education and their dental checkups every six months.

If you are a school administrator and are interested in bringing the Smiles X-Press program to your school, please contact Stephanie at 714-510-3837 x 244 or srebollar@healthysmilesoc.org.

Disponible en español

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Every year Healthy Smiles hosts a Toy Drive with the help of generous community partners and corporations. This year Angels player Chuck Finley made a special appearance at the Toy Drive, courtesy of BIOLASE, Inc.

BIOLASE, Inc. is a medical device company that uses laser technology in dentistry and has supported several Healthy Smiles initiatives in the past.

The three-time All-Star and former Anaheim Angel’s player spread holiday cheer at our Garden Grove clinic by delivering toys, taking photos and signing autographs. Finley also talked about the importance of brushing your teeth every day with patients.

Earlier this year, BIOLASE, Inc. donated two dental lasers to the clinic and trained Healthy Smiles practitioners including residents from University of Southern California School of Dentistry.

“We know that there is a big need in our surrounding communities for improved oral health, and we want to do our best to reach out and increase access to quality care for as many people as possible,” said John Beaver, Executive Vice President and CFO of BIOLASE, Inc. “Collaborating with Healthy Smiles allows us to do just that, while educating individuals about the benefits of utilizing laser technology.”

With the help of BIOLASE, Inc. and other organizations, the Toy Drive supplied toys for the Tooth Fairy Learning Center (TFLC), a fun and interactive educational resource located right next to the lobby of our Garden Grove clinic. Children that visit the TFLC learn how to brush, floss and receive nutritional education. Patients that complete their brushing and flossing calendars as well as attend their six-month check-ups earn Tooth Fairy Bucks that can be exchanged for fun prizes and toys!

“We are honored to have the support of corporations such as Biolase because it allows us to provide opportunities for our patients not just during the holidays but year-round,” said Jenny Sanchez, Associate Director of Outreach.

After Finley toured our clinic and gave out toys, Healthy Smiles staff encouraged him to ring the cavity-free bell! Patients who are cavity-free at their six-month check-ups get to ring the bell and go home with extra Tooth Fairy Bucks.

Healthy Smiles would like to thank BIOLASE Inc. and all of the Toy Drive partners for helping to make this year’s Toy Drive a memorable one.

If you are interested in becoming a corporate partner with Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, please contact Natalie Camacho, Communications and Development Specialist at 714-510-3846 or ncamacho@healthysmilesoc.org.

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