Free dental service puts smile on young faces

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Brenda Salis, 9, spent her Sunday morning stretched out in a chair at Kool Smiles Dental on East Street getting some much needed dental treatment. She had a tooth extraction and also a cleaning.

“We just came from Mexico in October and in her case she has no medical or dental assistance.” Orozco added, “This is a big help for us since in my case I have no job for the moment,” Brenda’s mother, Sonia Orozco said.

The young girl is one of dozens of other children who were able to get free dental treatments as a part of Kool Smiles’ ‘Sharing Smiles Day’. In recognition of February being Children’s Dental Health Month, the dental office decided to provide children without dental insurance needed dental care at no cost. Available treatment included dental exams, limited emergency care, extractions, fillings, sealants and baby tooth root canals and crowns.

“Teeth are very important. Your smile is something people will remember forever.” Calvin added, “You can get very sick from having decay in your mouth that lingers on and it gets into your bloodstream and yes there have been some fatalities from having bad teeth,” Clinical Team Leader Yvette Calvin said.

Even though the dental services were free, Orozco decided to pay Kool Smiles but volunteering for the day as a translator for families who took advantage of ‘Sharing Smiles Day’ but spoke limited English.

She said, “I want to be thankful and I think helping out is what it takes.”

This was the first year Kool Smiles Dental offered free dental service to children up to 18 years old for free. The dental office is hoping to celebrate ‘Sharing Smiles Day’ annually.