Dental center provides care to needy children

PROVIDENCE – More than 100 underserved, underinsured children received dental care Feb. 11 as part of the ninth annual Give Kids a Smile Day held at the Samuels Sinclair Dental Center at Rhode Island Hospital.
The program, part of National Children’s Dental Health Month, seeks to provide dental care to low-income children who would not otherwise have access to care.
Children received dental screenings, oral examinations, radiographs, cleanings, fillings and educational materials. To help make the event more kid-friendly, there were visits from Paws, the Pawtucket Red Sox mascot, and Mr. Potato Head from Hasbro Inc.
In Rhode Island, only 1 percent of the Medicaid budget is allocated to dental services, so that for many children, this was their first visit to a dentist, according to Jill Reuter, spokeswoman for Rhode Island Hospital. &#8226