At age 5, Luke Zink is a grizzled veteran when it comes to going to the dentist.
So when Luke heard he and his sister, Cora, 2, were going to the dentist Friday morning for the Monongalia County Health Department’s annual — and free — Give Kids a Smile program, he was more than happy to show his younger sibling how things were done.
“Luke went first and climbed right up on the chair as Cora watched,” said their mother, M.J. Zink, of Morgantown. Luke has been going to Give Kids a Smile since he was 2. This was Cora’s first time at the dentist.
“She watched Luke. When it was her turn, she hopped right up,” M.J. said.
“This is a very selfless act,” she added.
This is the 10th year Monongalia County Health Department has participated in the event, started by the American Dental Association in 2003 as a way for dental care providers to offer free dental services to children 18 and younger, who do not have dental insurance.
Despite the first major local snowfall of the year, Daniel Carrier, director of MCHD Dentistry, the department’s full-service dental office, said around a dozen children were treated Friday morning. A total of 45 children had been scheduled for a visit, he said.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Carrier, father of Daniel, 5, and Lena, 3. It also helps that the hallway was full of colorful balloons and the kids got a free toothbrush and toothpaste.
Dental decay in children is a problem. If not addressed, it can cause children to be in pain, as well as affect speech, especially if teeth are lost, he said.
“I like to say by their first birthday, they should have their first dental exam,” Carrier said. “Even if they only have one tooth.”
During the 30-minute exam, each child received a cleaning from a dental hygienist, a fluoride treatment, an exam, as well as education about dental health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five children between the 5 and 11 will have at least one untreated or decayed tooth. Also, 1 in 7 adolescents ages 12 to 19 have at least one untreated decayed tooth. And children 5 to 19 from low-income families are twice as likely to have cavities than children from higher income households.
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