Dental Hygiene Clinic Offers Free Services to Young Children in Need During Annual Event

Middlesex College welcomed over 40 kids to its on-campus Dental Hygiene Clinic on February 26 for its annual Give Kids A Smile event providing free dental care to kids as young as 3 years old.

“It’s like organized chaos,” said Middlesex College Chair of Dental Hygiene Michelle Roman, smiling, of course. “It’s very gratifying, but it takes a lot of planning. Everyone knows the purpose and everyone gets into the flow.”

Services are provided by Middlesex College students in the Dental Hygiene program, with additional help from students in a similar program at New Brunswick High School.

After getting feedback from her students last year, Roman tweaked the format for the event in an attempt to provide service to more kids. Children ages 6 and over were X-rayed first and then sat in the dental chair for necessary work. Children ages 5 and under were met by a dentist and given an exam.

“We can do all the dentistry they need,” Roman said. “If they have a cavity and they need a filling, we can do that. If they have a cavity that is so large and they need an extraction, we can do that as well. It’s really a day that we can do everything.”

This year the dental clinic was full of nervous but calm kids, dentists in blue smocks and masks, and the Tooth Fairy—also known as second-year Middlesex College student Saray Gayed.

Give Kids A Smile is a national event promoted by the American Dental Association and the New Jersey Dental Association. The event provides underserved children with free oral health care, including education, screenings, and preventive and restorative treatments. Families are encouraged sign up ahead of time, but no one who shows up is turned away.

“They could come in and be in great shape, no decay, just needing an exam,” said Roman. “We have many other community outreach events that we do, but this is the one that offers full-fledged dental care.”