REACH which is located on Commercial Drive, has been providing excellent dental care to those who can’t afford it for over 40 years. With only three dentists on staff, it operates on a fee-for-service basis but offers the procedures at a reasonable cost and, whenever possible, provides subsidies for those who are unable to pay. However, it’s getting increasingly difficult to help those who can’t afford dental care, according to REACH executive director Madeline Boscoe.

Thousand of residents where able to take advantage of the free services offered  at the 8th annual day for children Health Fair at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.  Children up to age 15 were able to be checked out at stations ranging from dental and vision care to physical and occupational therapy. Visitors were provided with information on resources available to them, including Florida KidCare insurance programs.

on Oct 22nd at Travis Intermediate School, dozens of children said “ah” and stuck out their tongues as doctors gave them free medical checkups, in addition Dentist where at hand to provide free dental exams.

For the kids  after the checkups where done, the festival provided fun with face painting and a bounce house. However, if a child checkup brought up an issue, a doctor would recommend the child visit the clinic at no cost for a follow-up exam or consultation.

Tooth Taxi provided free dental care treatment to about 30 Liberty Elementary School students in  Tillamook. The Liberty Elementary School is among more than 100 sites across the state to be visited by the Tooth Taxi. Tooth Taxi is a dentist’s office on wheels that helps provides free dental treatment to students most in need.

A $90,000 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation will help 500 uninsured children get dental care they need.  The grant was awarded to Kids in Distress for it Kid Dental Clinic in Wilton Manors which operates through a partnership with Nova Southeastern University.

Teaching elementary school kids about dental care is part of of the health department’s participation in Smile Kentucky!. The Louisville-based community partnership is headed by Louisville Water Co. and designed to combat tooth decay in children.

Smile Kentucky! helps to identify children who do not have dental care coverage and invite them to receive free treatment in February at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry or at the office of one of the participating dentists.

Dentist are seeing more of their patients are unable to pay for dental care treatment.  Some of the hardest people hit by the economy is the younger kids who may not have steady jobs or dental insurance as well as lower income families that are just making ends meat. Simply put many of these people can not afford any major dental care such as root canals, and crowns that can cause as high as $2000 or more without dental insurance.

With Sacramento’s double-digit jobless rate and bleak economic conditions are all too real, and they’re affecting dentists along with their patients. With dentist in Sacrament region reporting that their business has dropped as much as 25 to 30 percent with in the last three years.  This drop in business for the dentist, means that more people may not be receiving proper dental care.

Working with the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry in order to provide dental care to Lincoln, Nebraska, elementary students in need.  Ameritas Group sponsors the UNMC Dental Sealant Program that reaches out to several Lincoln public schools. They knows how important dental care is and that us why they increased their contribution to the program this year by 50%.

Many U.S. children do not see the dentist regularly.  Even though most parents know that dental and oral healthcare is important. One reason for this, is that many people do not receive dental benefits though their employment and they feel that can not afford private dental insurance.

Some people state even with dental care benefits their co pay for dental care is still to costly for them to afford.  However dental care for children does not have to be out of reach. Many people do not know all the resources that are available to them.

In most states there are low cost dental insurance plan (such as HMO’s) with affordable co-pays. Also most of these dental insurance plans offer free preventive care which is more the half the battle when it comes to oral health care.

If even the more affordable lower cost dental insurance plans are still too costly, then use your state resources:  Each state all over the USA has a particular program for kids coming from low income families. Under the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), each qualified kid that falling under its income requirement bracket, are either covered for free or are given low cost insurance.

Nearly one in five children in Ohio does not have dental insurance and one in eight has never been to a dentist. Many children are not getting the needed preventive dental care and only see a dentist when it becomes a crisis.

Ohio now has 68 federally designated “shortage” areas for dental health professionals. This is mostly due to inadequate numbers of dentists serving rural and low-income patients.

The MetLife Foundation is Partnering up with Children’s Health Fund and Sesame Workshop in order to provide direct dental care and oral health education and outreach to children and families. MetLife Foundation announced it is awarding $1.1 million to two organizations focused on children and children’s health.

Dental professionals stress the importance of taking your child for a dental checkup at least twice a year (once every six months.) That said many parent worry about how to find the best dentist for their child. This is especially true for children ages 1-6 since it is sometimes difficult to find the perfect dental professional who knows how to behave with younger children. Here are some tips that may help you find the right dentist for your child.

* Try and get and consider recommendations of pediatric dentist from other mothers.

* Go to the dental office and talk to the dentist if you feel everything is alright you can take your      child in for a consultation

* If you have dental insurance find out if it covers for specialist. Since pediatric dentist are specialist  you want to make sure you are covered under your plan.

* If this is your child first dental appointment let the dentist know that is the case.

* Most pediatric dentist keep their waiting room kid friendly.  This will help the child stay in a good mood and make them feel like going to the dentist is a fun place to be.

There are many parents in California that are concerned about their children’s dental health care. However there are also many concerned parents that worry they can not afford proper dental care for their kids.

Californians for Patient Care wants to reminds all Californians, especially those who are low income or without adequate dental insurance benefits, that there are no to low-cost dental care providers in CA. Californians for Patient Care can help to connect you to these dental resources through an online tool called My Health Resource. The online tool, is free and confidential just visit calpatientcare.org

Early dental care for children is very important for starting your child on the right track to oral health care.   Even though most child health experts recommend that children begin oral health care by age 1 or when their first teeth emerge, a new report from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health shows that most children ages 1-2 have not yet started seeing a dentist.

A BDA website blog written by Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Executive (BDA’s) Board, states that ‘this could be the worst time in living memory to be a general dental practitioner in England.”

A study published by GUT suggests that certain types of mouth bacteria, some of which are found in gum disease, for example Granulicatella adjacens, are linked to the development of pancreatic cancer.

My dental insurance through work will be starting soon, up to now I have never had to pay for insurance. So what I need to know is what is considered Preventive, Basic and Major Treatment?  My plan will paid a percentage of all of these type of dental services.  Also what is a deductible? My plan states I have a $225 deductible and am trying to figure out what that is

Amalgam filling are made by combining elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and possibly other metallic elements.  Although amalgam filling are still considered to be safe the concerns that was  raised were about the mercury content in amalgams.  However the mercury when combined with the other metals is renders stable and safe for use in fillings.

Amalgam fillings are the most thoroughly researched and tested restorative material among all those in use today. They are durable, highly resistant to wear and they are the lower cost filling option. Amalgam filling are well tolerated by most people with only rare occurrences of allergic response

The British Dental Association welcomes the World Health Organization’s  publication ‘Future Use of Materials for Dental Restorations’ which reports about using different materials in dental fillings reflecting the November 2009 meeting at WHO’s Geneva headquarters regarding environmental and health factors that arise from using different filling materials.