Expanding Inclusive Dental Care for All Children
Imagine you are a parent trying your best to take care of all your kids’ needs. You want to provide a safe place to live, ensure the best food, navigate the schooling system, and meet all their health care needs. It’s a lot to manage. Now imagine if your child has a disability where mobility limits the places you can go, social situations induce anxiety, and stigma and ignorance discourage you from accessing the easiest places. It can be overwhelming. It can be even more difficult when you struggle with finances, which can create additional economic barriers. With all of this, dental care might not be a priority, especially if your job does not provide great dental insurance. Parents with a child with special needs face significant oral health barriers including:
Despite these challenges, Kids Smiles is uniquely positioned to expand inclusive dental care for children with disabilities in our community. We not only have a successful history of serving children with special needs, but we are also one of the only providers in the country uniquely prepared for this challenge. We are seeking passionate community members to join us and help expand our inclusive dental care services.
We have a goal of raising $150,000 and we need our community’s support. By supporting this campaign, you can create a Kids Smiles that is more accessible, inclusive, and prepared to remove barriers to oral health care for children with disabilities and their families.
Campaign Goals
Goal 1: Creating Safer and More Accessible Facilities
Kids Smiles is launching a renovation project at our West Philadelphia dental center that will create a welcoming environment with accessible design, sensory-friendly waiting areas, and visual supports.
The bright lights and loud, strange sounds of a dental office can often trigger stress and fear in special needs patients, and we aim to eliminate that anxiety for children and families.
The renovations will provide children and families with a layout that creates a more peaceful and soothing atmosphere. We plan to create outdoor murals, as shown here, that create beautiful landscapes and more inviting environments.
Goal 2: Increased Trust and Inclusion
Families with children who have special needs and disabilities need to trust their dental provider and feel welcome throughout every interaction with the clinical team. To achieve trust and inclusion outcomes, our staff must be prepared to effectively engage with our patients, their families, and community partners. Traditional dental programs do not go in-depth with communication skills for children with behavioral health challenges.
Our team undergoes training by national experts to increase understanding of disabilities, strengthen behavioral responses and relationship-building skills, and provide tools to navigate challenges. By increasing the competency of our staff, we will expand the Inclusive Dental program to our West Philadelphia dental center. This means we can serve patients every Friday as we alternate between our Southwest and West Philadelphia offices.
Goal 3: Remove Barriers to Oral Health Care
With our expertise and experience in addressing health disparities, Kids Smiles recognizes that there are external barriers to accessing dental care. Our commitment to oral health extends beyond the dental chair by supporting as many needs as possible. Many of our patients face challenges such as economic uncertainties, language access struggles, lack of education, and stress with resource navigation. As we strive to achieve the best possible outcomes for all our patients, especially children with special needs, we plan to remove as many barriers to oral health care as we can.
Program Impact – Meet Miles
Miles is seven years old and non-verbal, but still working on his speech. In January 2024, his mom Rebecca took him to the dentist, thinking he had just had one cavity, but was shocked to find out he needed extensive oral surgery that resulted in 3 extractions, 7 silver crowns, and many fillings. Since Miles did not speak, Rebecca had no idea he was in so much pain, and neither did his dentist at the time. knew she needed to find a new dentist trained to work with children like Miles. That’s when she found Kids Smiles.
Kids Smiles’ Inclusive Dental Program is designed for kids like Miles – patients with special needs. Our clinically and behaviorally trained dentists know how to work with children with disabilities. During his first visit, Miles was overwhelmed by the dental chair, and the dentist sat on the floor with him to brush his teeth and provide treatment. Rebecca was relieved that her son
found a place to feel safe.
Today, Miles looks forward to visiting Kids Smiles to get his teeth cleaned. Recently, he was even excited to have a “wiggly jiggly” tooth that he could give to the tooth fairy. Rebecca was grateful not only to have a place safe enough for Miles but also one that offered her support
instead of judgment.
“The Kids Smiles staff were very reassuring to me. I knew we were doing a good thing. And I thought that was nice, because aside from his actual dental issues, it took away some of that mom guilt. It was really helpful.”
– Rebecca
How to Help
You can help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 to renovate Kids Smiles’ West Philadelphia dental center and expand access to care for children with disabilities and special needs.
There are many ways to support this campaign, including:
Download the campaign brochure
to see more details and giving levels
Thank you to our Smiles for All Supporters!
Anonymous
Bill and Colleen Burns
Carp Family
Gary Davis
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
The Miles Family Fund
Greg and Kim Thomas
Heather Trombley
The Wallach Family Fund
To learn more contact Christine Polit, Director, Strategic Partnerships at cpolit@kidssmiles.org or call (856)-278-2608.
Donations to the Smiles for All campaign can be made
by sending a check payable to:
Kids Smiles 219 B Chester Pike Norwood, PA 19074