The Future Smiles Dental Program is a comprehensive dental initiative aimed at improving the oral health of thousands of children. Our clinic, the only school-based dental clinic in an Arkansas elementary school, has services 11,077 patients to date. Services include annual dental screenings and sealants, fluoride varnish, and restorative care.
Dental screenings and toothbrush kits are provided on-site at the partner schools during the fall semester and during CI annual events. All students attending the school are eligible once parent permission is granted. Over the past 12 years, 29,727 students have received dental screenings, toothbrush kits and dental education. This year, alone, we completed 1,679 CI health assessments & 717 non-CI health assessments. This number exceeds the total planned of 1,701 by 40%.
Dental sealants are provided on-site at the elementary schools with portable dental equipment. Dental sealants are plastic coatings placed on the chewing surfaces of back teeth to seal out the food and bacteria. UAMS Department of Dental Hygiene faculty and students, as well as volunteer dental professionals, provide sealants from February through March every year. To date, 3,857 children have received 11,745 dental sealants.
Restorative care is provided to our children as well. Pulaski Technical College’s Dental Assistance program students are improving the oral health of children by providing two fluoride varnish treatments, a substance painted directly on teeth to reduce tooth decay. To get the best results, we recommend children eat soft foods for the rest of the day and avoid brushing until the next morning. CI has provided 8,003 children with these treatments.
The clinic targets children without dental insurance and those with Medicaid/AR Kids 1st. UAMS Department of Dental Hygiene partners with UA Little Rock CI to provide x-rays, cleanings, and sealants for children at Future Smiles. CI staff transport children from area elementary schools.
The Future Smiles Dental Clinic is open four days a week from 8-4 p.m., 11 months of the year.
Funding
In addition to UA Little Rock Children International and Medicaid reimbursements, the clinic has received generous financial support from a combination of private and public sources:
Arkansas Department of Health
Heart of Arkansas United Way
Delta Dental Plan of Arkansas
Little Rock School District
Blue & You Foundation
Wal-Mart Foundation
Plum Creek Foundation
Union Pacific Foundation
Dental Health Action Team
Arkansas Dept of Health, Office of Oral Health
Heart of Arkansas United Way
Delta Dental Plan of Arkansas
Little Rock School District
Arkansas Department of Human Services
UAMS Department of Dental Hygiene
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Arkansas State Dental Association
Children International
Arkansas Minority Health Commission
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
UAMS Head Start
Arkansas Department of Education