Changing lives, one smile at a time

Each year on the first Friday in February, thousands of the nation's dentists and their dental team members provide free oral health care services to children from low-income families across the country.

The ADA's Give Kids A Smile® program enhances the oral health of large numbers of needy children. Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) activities also highlight for policy makers the ongoing challenges that disadvantaged families face in finding dental care.

An initiative proposed by the American Dental Association, GKAS is a National Children’s Dental Access Day designed as an awareness and education day, providing free oral health care to as many children as possible.  For seven years the VDAF has supported a State-wide Give Kids A Smile day as well as the individual efforts of volunteer dentists.  Such efforts range from community outreach/education programs at schools to donated full mouth restorations for those children requiring extensive care.  Each February designated dental offices, dental clinics and schools across the state of Virginia open their doors to provide free oral health care to low-income children.

Give Kids a Smile is designed to enhance the oral health care of large numbers of needy children and to highlight for policy makers the on-going challenges low income and disabled children face accessing dental care. The concept of the initiative is to create a nationwide umbrella for existing charitable treatment, screening, educational and prevention programs to see children on the same day.

Click Here To Volunteer with Give Kids A Smile