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Give Kids a Smile

By Mary Loden Of The Summit

FOREST CITY - Peggy Funk , a dental hygienist and oral health coordinator with the North Iowa Community Action Organization, likes to see kids smile and knows how important dental health is to overall well being.  That's why she works so hard getting the area's underinsured kids the dental care they need.

Funk, along with a portable x-ray machine, arrived at Forest City Middle School Thursday morning to conduct screenings for over half a dozen middle and high school students.

Students are identified through the help of school nurses and names are taken from the free/reduced lunch program. "Forms go home to these parents and it they are uninsured for dental insurance they can come in for the screening today," explained Alex Kuhn , a United Way regional coordinator.

"We come to the school with the x-ray machine and identify a student's need to determine future care," said Funk, whose organization participates in the Iowa Department of Public Health's I-Smile program.

"This camera takes 1/100th of a second to process," Funk said, pointing to the screen on a lap top computer which showed an x-ray of a student's teeth.

The x-rays will be given to Forest City dentists, Dr. Laila Bollinger and Dr. Scott Wilson, who are donating their skills and time to Give Kids A Smile, a national effort which provides educational, preventive and restorative treatment at no cost to uninsured children who would not otherwise get dental care.

The x-rays are used to pre-screen the Give Kids a Smile Day candidates so that the dentists volunteering are able to have a dental plan ready for the children before they walk through their doors.

This program is made possible by a partnership with United Way of North Central Iowa (UWNCI) and North Iowa Community Action Organization (NICAO). "United Way heard about the I-Smile program through other United Way agencies and learned one of the biggest issues to receiving dental care was transportation for the students," said Brandi Evers , a United Way regional coordinator, who helped with the screening process at the middle school.

This is the third year United Way has been a part of the program and the first year they have done dental screenings in Forest City . "We're excited to extend this into the Forest City area," said Kuhn.

"When looking at the economy and the lay offs there are a number of people who might need this care."

NICAO teamed up with United Way in 2008 when Funk applied for and received a Venture Grant from the agency to purchase the portable x-ray machine.

"The Venture grant is 5 percent of our annual campaign - what United Way raises each year," Kuhn explained.

"We're fortunate United Way gave us a grant for this portable x-ray machine for Give Kids A Smile," Funk said.

But screening is just the first step in the process. "We coordinate with schools in our 10-county area and set up dates and times," Evers said. They also make the arrangements with local dentists.  "Each year we realize more and more just how much this program fulfills a need in the community," said Evers. "The teamwork exemplified by local school districts, dentist, and NICAO in planning this program will enable so many uninsured students to receive the dental care they so desperately need."

"We want people to be aware of how important dental care is," Funk said. "In the last x-ray I noticed something that would have gone unnoticed without an x-ray. With the economy and people losing their dental insurance they think it is optional care. It's not, its very important.

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