For the sixth time, NSU’s College of Dental Medicine has received a renewed $70,000 grant to provide free dental services to uninsured elementary school students in the North Miami Beach area.
The grant will run until mid-August of 2014 and was given by the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation, which supports programs that improve, preserve or
restore the health and health care of Miami-Dade county residents.
Since 2007, this grant has allowed the College of Dental Medicine to provide services in their North Miami clinic to more than 1,000 elementary school students. The dental services include preventative services such as cleaning, fluoride garnish and sealant, and specialized treatments such as fillings, crowns, extractions and space retainers.
The preventative services are performed by second-year NSU dental students with faculty supervision. Additional services are provided by students in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program and the Department of Pediatric Dentistry.
Ana Karina Mascarenhas, associate dean and chief of Developmental Sciences in the College of Dental Medicine, said, “The number one preventable infectious disease that children are getting in the U.S. is cavities. By providing these services to elementary school children, we can catch it early and prevent a lot of future diseases.”
Mascarenhas said providing this care has become a school project for the dental students.
“It is like any medical facility you go to where you would get the first-level care and then the specialized care, and it is also a way for students to put their study into practice,” said Mascarenhas.
The services are available to students in three elementary schools in the North Miami area: Greynolds Park, Fulford and Gertrude K. Edelman Sable Palm .
“Our staff will go to the open houses and start talking about the services to get people to sign up. We then take the children who are eligible and whose parents signed consent forms to our North Miami facility and provide the care there,” said Mascarenhas.
Mascarenhas said there is a need in the community for these dental services.
“It is also important for NSU to get our name out there because community engagement is a win-win for the community and our institution,” said Mascarenhas.
