NEWSLETTER. From Sonrisas Dental Health’s Bonnie Jue, DDS, Community Engagement Director.
Come celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month with Sonrisas! We provide free dental screenings and education to children throughout San Mateo County because baby teeth are important! We’re able to put kids’ oral health at the forefront all year, with support from our donors and grant funders!
This year, Sonrisas has more invitations to provide screenings for children in preschools and elementary schools than ever before due to an unprecedented need for dental services during the pandemic. Through our events, we’ve discovered that over half of the children we screened did not have a dental home and were in need of seeing a dentist but couldn’t find one that took their insurance.
At Sonrisas, 87% of child patients have public dental insurance. We are fortunate to have pediatric specialists who can care for very young children because tooth decay can start before the age of 2!
You can help a child in need by supporting our dental clinic or our community programs that can prevent dental problems before they start!
~ Bonnie Jue, DDS, Community Engagement Director
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We Believe
Access to oral health care in San Mateo County is limited. An estimated 58,000 San Mateo County residents are unable to resolve oral health concerns due to lack of insurance and affordability.
At Sonrisas, we believe that everyone should be able to eat without pain, smile without embarrassment, and access dental care regardless of income.
Your gift helps make that possible in San Mateo County.
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Sonrisas Finds and Helps a Child in Pain
In 2019, Gabriela* and her family moved to San Mateo County in California from Honduras. Soon after her arrival, Sonrisas visited her elementary school to provide oral health screenings to students who have limited access to dental providers.
The School Screening team quickly discovered the six-year-old’s severe pain, abscesses on her lower molar, and tooth decay throughout her mouth—all factors that negatively affected her attention in school and self-confidence. Gabriela was promptly referred to Sonrisas’ San Mateo Dental Center and her parents brought her to Sonrisas after learning that their financial situation was not a barrier to their daughter’s care, comfort, and health.
Over the course of five visits, the dental team extracted broken down and decayed teeth to decrease the risk of infection spreading to other parts of her mouth, repaired cavities, and stabilized her pain. Not only did Gabriela receive restorative dental care and treatments through Sonrisas’ Access to Care program, the dental team provided her and her family with oral health education and preventive dental health habits. When we learned that Gabriela’s family did not have health insurance, we helped them sign up for Medi-Cal Dental, which they did not know that they qualified for before coming into Sonrisas.
Because of donors like you, who support our School Screening Program and Access to Care Program, Gabriela’s* oral health concern was identified, and her needs were addressed in a timely manner and with compassionate care. Her care treatment plan would have cost her family over $4000, but now Gabriela is able to access oral health care that would have otherwise been inaccessible.
The greatest success in treating Gabriela, though, was assisting her in becoming pain free so that she can eat properly, smile without shame, and have access to the pursuit of success!
*The patient’s name has been altered to protect her identity.
