“The idea is to screen as many children as we can fit into our day,” Giovanisci said in between patients. “We’re evaluating every child’s oral health, anywhere from hygiene and plaque control to diagnosing tooth decay and orthodontic needs. We are looking for problems like we would with other patients.”
Glendale Healthy Kids organized the day, which is really more of a yearlong program. Officials estimate 400 children will be served this year, a record for the 6-year-old initiative.
“The way we structure it, our doctors take the kids into their offices on an ongoing basis,” said Camille Levee, executive director of Glendale Healthy Kids. “These are kids we can touch before it becomes a crisis situation.”
Children would be treated free of charge later in the year if doctors found a glaring issue. Giovanisci recommended children begin seeing dentists twice a year after their teeth appear.
Participating families were low-income or without dental insurance, organizers said. Giovanisci said he’s seen a trend of families losing insurance.
“There’s been a clear change?.?.?.?because of the economy in general, because people are losing jobs or insurance,” he said.
Many participating children had never been to a dentist before, Levee said.
“We do have some who show up who need five or six teeth extracted because their mouths are so bad,” she said.
Children do not behave any differently than adult patients, Giovanisci said.
“Some kids act like adults and some adults act like kids,” he said. “Some [kids] are scared, some are excited, and we try to make them feel at home as best we can.”
Sean Dow, Lili’s younger brother, leaned back in the dental chair Friday as Giovanisci prepared to get to work, demonstrating on Sean’s fingernail how teeth were polished.
“He has no cavities, but he has to work on his brushing,” Giovanisci told Sean’s dad, Nick. “He’s missing along the gum line.”
