Thousands of local children benefit from School of Dentistry's Give Kids a Smile Day effort

UofL's School of Dentistry has provided free dental care to local children on the first Friday in February (national Give Kids a Smile Day) since 2002. This year, about 200 dental and dental hygiene faculty, staff and students visited six Jefferson County Public Schools. Nearly 3,000 children received oral health education and many received a free dental screening.

University of Louisville dentistry student Devin Moran told Yara Alnaanah to “open wide” so he could get a look at her teeth. With a smile, Moran told the kindergartner at Camp Taylor Elementary School “looks good!”

On this day, Moran was one of dozens of students from the UofL School of Dentistry invading Camp Taylor and three other Jefferson County schools to give free checkups and advice to more than 300 young students, many of them who rarely see a dentist.

“This is a part of our community outreach” said the dentistry school’s Dr. Haska Aljukic.

Moran said “it gives us a chance to interact with kids out in the community and also gives the community a chance to get some free screenings and free dental work done. So it’s kind of a win-win.”

Camp Taylor’s principal said he and the students’ busy parents appreciated UofL’s effort. So did Yara Alnaanah.

“They tell me, 'wow, your teeth are nice,'” she said.

Check out the Give Kids a Smile Day below: