Offering up a Smile—Dr. Terry Johnson's Office took part in "Give Kids a Smile Day" on March 21 at Johnson's Sparta clinic. The clinic offered free dental care to a selected group of children that day. Staff at the clinic shown are (from left) Dr. Johnson, Robin Ruppard, Marvena Glass and Jane Wallace. In the photo at left, Dr. Johnson and Ruppard work on the teeth of 9-year-old Noah Russell.

Give Kids a Smile Day is held here

About 14 local elementary school students participated March 21 in the annual Give Kids a Smile Day, in which they had their teeth examined by Dr. Terry Johnson and members of his staff.

The yearly event is sponsored by several organizations, including but not limited to, the North Carolina Dental Society, the North Carolina Dental Assistants Association, the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry and community colleges in the state.

According to information provided by Johnson through the North Carolina Dental Society, although more than a million adult and children in the state are eligible for Medicaid, only a fraction of them have access to regular dental care.

According to the information, "Even though most dentists quietly treat needy patients for free or at reduced rates in their offices and volunteer clinics, it is financially difficult for many to see Medicaid-eligible patients in their practices."

Johnson also provided information in a document entitled, "Think Before You Drink" that included a photo of the teeth of an individual who consumed an excess amount of sugar through soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

According to the information, Americans drink 15 billion gallons of carbonated drinks in a single year, therefore, on average, each American consumes about 56 gallons of soft drinks in a single year. The document cautions that drinking soft drinks could result in obesity, tooth decay, caffeine dependence and weakened bones. According to statistics recorded last year, one in four children enter kindergarten with an untreated dental disease. Since the inception of the Give Kids a Smile Day program, more than 34,000 children have received in excess of $3 million in oral care from more than 4,500 dental volunteers.

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