NYS Give Kids A Smile

NYS Give Kids a Smile

WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2023 - The Foundation is now accepting applications, due July 1, 2022 for the 2023 GKAS awards.
Winning applicants will receive up to $5,000, as determined by the NYSDF Board of Trustees. Additionally, this year the Foundation has instituted a complementary level GKAS Award, designed to assist chosen organizations receive needed product and/or supplies. Winners will be announced at the end of the year 2022.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED ONLINE

Click here to begin the 2023 GKAS Application

NEWS: ADA FOUNDATION INTRODUCES TOLL-FREE NUMBER FOR GIVE KIDS A SMILE®: 1-844-490-GKAS (4527)

Since 2007, the New York State Dental Foundation has given more than $168,000 to community health centers or service programs as part of its Give Kids a Smile Award program. The Foundation recognizes these programs’ ability to build, expand or enhance education, access and/or capacity with respect to oral health care for children. The NYSDF Give Kids A Smile Award raises awareness among the community at large that our children deserve good oral health.

The New York State Dental Foundation is accepting applications for the 2022 GKAS awards. The GKAS Award recognizes an organization’s ability to build, expand or enhance education, access and/or capacity with respect to oral health care for children. Winning applicants will receive up to $5,000, as determined by the NYSDF Board of Trustees.

Nominated community health centers or service programs must answer the following questions:

How is your organization setting higher standards of oral health care and quality to better meet the challenges of the future?
How are you driving innovation in oral health care deliver?
How is your program improving oral health outcomes within our communities?
What are you doing to move New York State in new directions to meet the oral health care needs of children?
How does your program target education, screening and prevention, and access?
How does your programming expand current capacity?

Nominators must complete the application form, which includes a written statement and letters of support from at least one other organization or individual. All nominations must include a written statement of no more than one page detailing why the nominee should receive the award, including an explanation of HOW the nominee meets the criteria to merit recognition and HOW the nominee will use any GKAS Award funding.

If appropriate, a letter of support from a local public health organization should be included with the application.

All nominations must include a statement indicating why the nominator has chosen to seek award funding from the New York State Dental Foundation.

Once-a-year activities are NOT eligible for GKAS Award consideration.

All GKAS Award recipients MUST include NYS Dental Foundation logo and references in all promotional and press materials related to the activities for which they are receiving the GKAS Award.

2020 Give Kids A Smile Winners

The New York State Dental Foundation’s Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) Awards spotlight innovative and engaging oral health programs and activities from organizations across the State.
This year the Foundation awarded more than $10,000 in cash and materials to three organizations in support of their pediatric oral health outreaches.

This year’s GKAS winners are: the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program and Touro College of Dental Medicine.

A key factor in determining which organizations will receive a GKAS Award is to recognize which groups are making significant impacts on the most vulnerable of our population. Often, these organizations are working against all odds, with limited budgets. In 2020, the sheer scale of the COVID-19 crisis put grant makers, including the Foundation, in triage mode. The Foundation’s Charitable Awards Committee, which makes funding recommendations to the full Board, has had to make hard choices to determine which urgent needs most warranted support. There is little doubt that this decision framework will carry well into 2021.

COVID-19 is not the only external factor impacting the Foundation’s GKAS Award decision making. “Children and adolescents in the U.S. have made substantial oral health gains in recent years,” states Foundation Chair, Dr. G. Kirk Gleason. “However, there remain persistent disparities in oral health status between white and other racial/ethnic groups and between higher- and lower-income groups of all ages.”

Discovery Center of the Southern Tier of New York

The Foundation donated $4,000 to the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier to help completion of the revamped “Open Wide” dental exhibit.
The Discovery Center is a chartered educational children's museum that offers interactive learning support for families and public and private educational facilities. Exhibits, many of which interactive, at the Discovery Center serve as an educational tool for schools, families and organizations that seek to foster educational and community learning activities. The mission of the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier is to develop the intellectual, physical and emotional well-being of the children of the Southern Tier through participatory exhibits and programs that engage the senses, challenge the mind and offer a diverse framework for discovery in the arts, sciences and humanities.
Open Wide, which was first established in 2009 to provide children with an introduction to the idea of dental care and treatment, does not, in and of itself, serve as a mechanism for providing direct dental care, but it is able to educate children through role play throughout the year about the importance of good oral health, while at the same time promoting an interest in dental profession as a future career. The interactive nature of the exhibit, which enables kids to "diagnose" x-rays and "examine" the oral cavity further serves to demystify the dental visit experience, which for some kids, can be daunting.

Touro College of Dental Medicine

The Foundation awarded Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) a $3,500 “combined” grant to provide materials/supplies needed for both its 2019 Veterans Smile and 2020 pediatric oral health outreaches. TCDM has expanded its Pediatrics Oral Health Education and Outreach Program beyond the clinic, to improve the oral health of its communities and partnered with the Ossining Union Free School District (OUFSD), whose 2017/2018 enrollment statistics label 61% of their 4817 students as economically disadvantaged. Through the partnership with OUFSD, TCDM planned a variety of oral health education events, including Cavity Fighters Club Seminars in OUFSD’s K-5 schools and a First Steps Program aimed at parents and their toddlers.

Each year, Community health centers or service programs are encouraged to submit electronic entries for the GKAS Award to the Foundation, which can be accessed at www.nysdentalfoundation.org or by emailing Laura Clark Leon at lbleon@nysdental.org.

PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP)

The Foundation donated $2,900 worth of supplies inventory and $2,500 in GKAS Award cash for dental education and flyers. PRASAD CDHP sets a higher standard of oral health and quality to better meet the challenges in the community by delivering dental health education classes and providing a full range of preventive and restorative services, including cleanings, fillings, x-rays, extractions, sealants, cavity prevention and fluoride treatment. Since its inception in 1998, PRASAD CDHP has brought oral health care to children in a rural community. The program is designed to address community barriers to access care such as poor health education, poverty and lack of transportation. A state-of-the-art mobile clinic serves children where they are, at the schools, and ensures that they are able to receive the dental care they need. This strategy has made dental care and health education accessible to thousands of children. Each year PRASAD serves more than 4,000 children. PRASAD CDHP actively collaborates with state and local groups that seek to improve health outcomes including the New York State Oral Health Coalition, the Rural Health Network, school districts and the Sullivan County Oral Health Coalition. Through partnerships with community health organizations and work in the schools, the program is able to educate teachers, students and parents about the importance of good oral heal

2019 Give Kids A Smile Winner

Laura Clark Stedman, Executive Director NYSDF, Samantha Metz, Project Coordinator, Population Health Improvement Plan, Might Molar (aka Rosalie Hopko, Americacorps Member, Dr. G. Kirk Gleason, Chairman NYSDF

Seven Valleys Health Coalition this week received a 2019 GKAS Award from the New York State Dental Foundation. Included in this award is $4,800 to support the Mighty Molar Program expand its reach to include expectant parents and newborns.

Mighty Molar is more than an educational program for elementary school children and community members; Mighty Molar is a 6 foot tall smiling cartoon character who helps make learning about good oral hygiene a fun and memorable experience. Sometimes accompanying Mighty Molar is Murray the Toothbrush. Together, they attend community events and are featured in skits and other educational programs we bring to local elementary schools, day cares, and Head Start programs. Kids learn about healthy foods, how to brush their teeth, and tooth safety. SVHC staff, community members, senior volunteers, and SUNY Cortland students are all involved in sharing the
message that teeth are meant to last a lifetime.

Anne A. Withers, Child Care Resource & Referral Program Director for the United Way Child Development Council, says “Expanding the outreach of the Mighty Molar Program is an excellent next step for oral health outreach in Cortland County.”

The GKAS Award will be used to create dental health record and education booklets to be given to new and expecting parents. The goal of the booklets is to help parents keep track of their child’s dental health record, receive helpful dental health quick facts, have a list of local dentists and a timeline of when a child should receive treatments such as fluoride varnish or dental sealants.

2017 Give Kids A Smile Award Winners

Foundation to Honor Three Organizations

The New York State Dental Foundation is this year giving three of its Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) awards to organizations whose collective efforts help to ensure that children receive the dental treatment that they might not otherwise receive, due to lack of dental insurance, non-transportation, inadequate family health literacy, and other issues.

This year’s winners are: the Dutchess County Dental Society Players, Hometown Healthcare, and PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program. We went directly to key people involved with these programs to find out what they do, and how they’re doing it.

NYSDF: Tell us what receiving another GKAS Award from the NYS Dental Foundation means to your program?

(Dr. Michael Schwartz, Dutchess County Dental Society Players): We are always scrounging for
funds to purchase coloring books, toothbrushes and costumes, etc., for our performance skits. This grant helps, enormously to defray the costs. It had been difficult to predictably engage manufacturers for sponsorship to provide either supplies or discount prices.

(Dr. Justin Hurlburt, Hometown Healthcare): The GKAS grant allowed Hometown Health Center to add staff for a day to include another middle school in the Schenectady City School District for our dental outreach program. This allows another school with high risk children to be treated with sealants, fluoride and dental cleanings – all while eliminating the barrier of transportation to the actual health center. We will see over 300 children at that middle school.

(Dr. Escarra, PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program): It is always wonderful to receive a GKAS Award! The funding is very much needed to support our dental program. In addition, this prestigious award raises even more the credibility of our organization and its services; helps to attract new patients and supporters, and improves motivation within our team. Our staff and Trustees are excited to share the news of the GKAS Award with others!

NYSDF: How have you seen the needs of the populations that DCDSP sees change over time?
What are the biggest challenges? Opportunities?

(Dutchess County Society Players): While we have not taken the steps to survey all local Dentists to see if their practices have seen an uptick of children in their practices, that we have reached with our efforts, judging by the approvals we received from the children, and the administrators, we feel comfortable with what we do. These are largely performances for children in the poorer school districts, and that is a constant need. Interestingly, we are now considering expanding our performances to meet with parents groups, and educate on a different level, albeit, keeping our format. The grant helps with that process.

(Hometown Healthcare): We treat a population that has a very urgent need for dental treatment. We see children and adults alike with large amounts of dental disease. Through our outreach program we are attempting earlier interventions with children, in hopes that the decay rate will decrease. Our hope is by reaching as many kids as we can, our goal will be realized. We also focus on educating children and their parents about the importance of dental health, and that primary teeth are actually important and don’t “just fall out.” The challenges we face are lack of resources, time constraints, and limited contact with children. By using out outreach program in the schools, we can reach children without the need for transportation. We have been involved in multiple state and nationwide collaborative in an effort to increase care and direct oral health literacy to younger populations.

(PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program): PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program has served our local communities for 18 years. Our dedicated staff has established strong working partnerships with the school districts, principals and school nurses, which have been instrumental in the long-term success of the program. We will use this award to extend our work to reach more children in need and utilize our extensive connections and experience to maintain the dental home for our current and newly acquired patients.

Through our mobile dental clinic, children are able to have a dental home where they receive dental services at their schools. Our motto is to “meet children where they learn and live”, so that oral health care is directly accessible.

The 2013 NY State County Health Indicators show that in Sullivan County, 93% of children under the age of 19 have health insurance. While the percent of insured children is impressive, this does not necessarily reflect the number of children with access to dental health care. The lack of dental care providers willing to accept low income insurance and the assigned Medicaid Managed Care “dental homes” create additional barriers for this vulnerable population to receive care. PRASAD CDHP is the only provider serving all children at the schools without limiting the Medicaid patients, and our bilingual staff assists families in accessing care.
Our fully-equipped mobile clinic is capable of providing most dental treatments and procedures. The clinic operates at schools throughout the county and young children who are not yet enrolled in the schools also come with their parents to receive our services.

PRASAD CDHP seeks new ways to improve children’s oral health, such as our support of the effort to implement the NYS dental certificates in all schools.

(NYSDF): Tell us briefly about one interaction you have had with a patient whose life was
changed by the education and awareness he or she received from the DCDSP?

(Dutchess County Society Players): In one of the Poughkeepsie schools, we met an administrator who, after attending one of our performances, became such an amazingly ardent supporter, seeing the need for dental awareness in her children. We were so appreciative of her efforts on our behalf, that we honored her with a ceremony and plaque for her work with us, and released it to the local newspaper.

(Hometown Healthcare): One of the benefits of working in public health is the ability to see genuine thankfulness on almost a daily basis. Whether it is getting someone out of discomfort by simply extracting a tooth, or giving them a set of dentures that allow them to return to some sort of function, we get to actually notice the difference in patients that we treat. The best experiences that we get to see are youngsters who come in to see us with absolute dread in their eyes, and we are able to work them through back to dental health. To change a kids visions of dental care and what to expect can change them a s a patient for good.

The GKAS Award was established in 2007 to help children get needed dental care; in particular, it seeks organizations which provide such services on a daily basis, often despite daunting odds.

(PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program): The children feel at home and sense the respect and love that underlie the service. And as a result, they are motivated to take care of their oral health. Keylin, an eight year-old student who recently had her teeth cleaned at our mobile clinic, told PRASAD CDHP that she loves coming to the clinic and she learned to brush properly. She also received a new pink toothbrush to take home. PRASAD CDHP makes children’s dental care convenient and enjoyable, and that’s what makes our program a success.

2016 Give Kids A Smile Award Winners

Heidi Bond, Public Health Director, Otsego County Public Health Department; Laura Clark Leon, NYSDF Executive Director; G. Kirk Gleason, NYSDF Chair; Kristin Pullyblank, RHENSOM Supervisor, Bassett Medical Center Research Institute; Elizabeth Bray, RDH - School Based Health, Research Institute Bassett Healthcare Network

United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County (Left to Right) Karen Geller Hittleman, Assistant Executive Director UCPA; Senator Carl Marcellino; Bob Mcguire, Executive Director UCPA; Dr. Joseph Brofsky; Jean Copzzi, CP Nassau Dental Manager; Students and Program Participants in front row

The new year will bring glad tidings in the form of cash and equipment for four organizations who have been chosen to receive awards from the New York State Dental Foundation as part of its Give Kids a Smile Award program.

This year’s winners are: Albany County Department of Health’s Dental Program; North Country Family Health Center; Rural Health Education Network of Schoharie, Otsego and Montgomery Counties, a program of Bassett Medical Center’s Research Institute, and United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County.

Since 2007, the New York State Dental Foundation has given more than $175,000 in GKAS Award funding to community health centers or service programs that build, expand or enhance pediatric oral health education or treatment.

“The GKAS Award is one of the primary ways in which the Foundation demonstrates our expertise in building capacity,” explains NYSDF Chair, Dr. G. Kirk Gleason. “Because we are a relatively small organization with limited resources, our strengths are best suited to facilitating the ability of similar organizations to achieve success through funding, donation of product or equipment, or, sometimes, linkages with other entities which might be better equipped to do heavy funding.”

Albany County Department of Health’s Dental Program: The Albany County Department of Health provides dental services, including cleanings, sealants, dental fillings and extractions, to nearly 1,600 children each year, resulting in more than 5,000 visits annually. Many of the children seeking care through the dental program reside in high risk neighborhoods, are socio-economically disadvantages and do not have the benefit of fluoridated water systems. A growing number are refugees who have extensive dental needs. ACDH, which won a GKAS Award in 2013, will use its $4,000 GKAS Award to replace two cavitrons which are each more than 25 years old.

North Country Family Health Center: Another repeat winner is the North Country Family Health Center (formerly North Country Children’s Clinic). North Country’s $1,600 GKAS Award will allow the NCFHC dental team to provide more sealant applications to children’s teeth. Specifically, the money will be used to purchase one portable DNTL Works overhead light and four portable curing lights.

Rural Health Education Network of Schoharie, Otsego and Montgomery Counties (RHENSOM): The RHENSOM program, part of Bassett Medical Center’s Research Institute, provides dental health education and oral hygiene supplies to all elementary students in the counties it serves. Its tem educates parents about early childhood caries and works with Bassett’s pediatric department to support integration of oral health risk assessment, education and fluoride varnish into well child visits. RHENSOM
will receive a $4,740 GKAS Award to supports the integration of “Reach out and Read” principles into well child visits by supplying fluoride varnish treatments and by the purchase and provision of the book “Brush, Brush, Brush!” for toddlers. Additionally, elementary libraries in the districts will receive recommended dental health books for teachers and students.

United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County: UCPA were in desperate need of a new vacuum machine to replace an old unit which was beyond repair. The Foundation purchased the $3,800 unit to help UCPA in its treatment of over 1,800 children and adults with disabilities including cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, motor impairments and other severe, debilitating conditions.

2015 Give Kids A Smile Award Winner

Pathfinder Village
2012 and 2015

2012 Award Presentation

2015 Award Presentation

Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, NY, is recipient of a $3,000 in 2012 and $5,000 in 2015 Give Kids A Smile Award from the New York State Dental Foundation, to support oral health among the facility’s twenty-four students, ages 10 to 21, who have Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. The GKAS Award will assist Pathfinder in the purchase an x-ray unit for its in-house Dental Room. Read more.

Pathfinder Village is a residential community dedicated to children and adults who have Down syndrome, autism, and other mental disabilities. The Dental Room was established on campus in 1984 by Dr. Joseph Giovannone, as an in-house facility to provide basic dental care. “It has one chair,” said Dr. Giovannone. “We polish teeth, perform preventive services and screening. We always wanted to take x-rays there, and now, with digital, that’s possible. The award will help the Village purchase an x-ray unit.”Taking x-rays on site will enhance patient care and help staff and doctors better track progress via direct integration of digital images to patient records.

On April 26, Dr. Giovannone will be at Pathfinder Village, located thirty miles south of Utica in rural central New York, to provide screening for thirty to fifty residents. On the same day, he will also train staff in the basics of oral health. Using an ADA training program, the doctor will train administrators and care providers in overcoming the challenges of oral health among the developmentally disabled.

“The care providers are very good at other aspects of health care, but many of them don’t know much about the oral cavity,” said Dr. Giovannone. “Just to perform daily brushing is an incredible challenge.”“We’re going to train them how to administer a daily oral care plan for each of the residents,” he said. “We’ll help residents create a checklist for oral care and provide special tools needed, such as special tooth brushes,
so the staff can assist with their care.”

Down syndrome patients are often resistant to anyone looking in their mouth, which makes oral hygiene particularly difficult. In addition to oral health, Dr. Giovannone teaches behavior modification techniques to overcome resistance.

“Picture a mentally disabled person who literally hasn’t brushed their teeth in three years. No one gets inside people’s mouths to help them with the brushing, the flossing. We have to train their care providers to help them,” said Dr. Giovannone.

He was first introduced to Pathfinder Village twenty-eight years ago by a now retired hygienist who worked with the community there. He gets tremendous satisfaction from his work, which he performs partially pro bono. “You have to give something back,” says the doctor. “These kids are great. I say kids, some of them were kids when I started, now they’re in their 40s and 50s. When I go there, they start screaming, ‘Hey, here comes Dr. Joe!’”

2014 Give Kids A Smile Award Winner

Dr. Maria Maranga presents the Suffolk County Dental Association with the Foundation’s Give Kids a Smile Awards on February 7, 2015 at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead. Suffolk County received the reward in recognition for its annual GKAS Program, which provides dental screenings and education to families. Additionally, Suffolk County works with the Family Service League of Long Island to help offer advice to families that attend by helping them to obtain Medicaid or other financial assistance. Both organizations also partner with the Save-A-Smile program, which matches individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid but not wealthy enough to afford emergency dental treatment with volunteer SCDS members who are willing to provide treatment pro bono.

2009, 2011 and 2014 NYSDF GKAS Award Winner
PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program, Inc.

Cayuga County Health Department's
BRUSH TO CRUSH CAVITIES

2013 Give Kids A Smile Award Winners

Staten Island University Hospital Department of Dentistry

Staten Island University Hospital’s Department of Dentistry will receive $4,875 to provide treatment to pediatric patients for conditions that can be corrected or significantly improved by early interventions for the guidance of eruption, space supervision and interceptive orthodontic treatment. The 15 patients who will benefit from the GKAS Award are those whose insurance plans, such as Medicaid and Child Health Plus, do not currently cover orthodontic treatment. Nancy R. Vomero, President/CEO of the Seaman’s Society for Children & Families, a foster care agency in contract with New York City Children’s Services, has commended SI’s dental department for the expert care provided by a team of committed professionals to its entire foster care population of 200-250 children. The Department of Dentistry focuses on community service assuring that the community’s population receives quality dental by providing efficient and compassionate delivery of quality health care to patients regardless of their ability to pay and without regard to race, creed, sex, age, disability or national origin.

Ellis Medical Dental Clinic

The Ellis Medical Dental Clinic in Schenectady will receive $5,000 to purchase a RVG 6100-size 0 (for children) dental digital radiography sensor to enhance patient comfort and to expedite the clinical patient experience. Ellis Medical Dental Clinic, which provides care to nearly 3,800 children under 17 each year, has partnered with several community organizations in the delivery of a comprehensive healthcare program called the Medical Home, which includes dental care, primary care services, child and adolescent mental health services and a wide range of outpatient services including imaging, laboratory and emergency services. Ellis Medicine offers a one- year residency in general dentistry through the Dental Health Center, which serves as both a productive training program and a valuable community resource.

2012 Give Kids A Smile Award

Columbia Memorial Hospital

Columbia Memorial Hospital’s Mobile Dental Health Services Program is a recipient of the New York State Dental Foundation Give Kids a Smile Award, in recognition of its efforts to improve the oral health needs of children in Columbia and Greene Counties. The Board of the Foundation voted unanimously to award this program $3,000 for the purchase of equipment that will allow the van to be more accessible to the public.The Hospital’s Mobile Dental Health Services unit travels to elementary schools in Columbia and Greene Counties providing dental prevention and treatment services for students. Since 2007, the program has provided preventive services as well as oral health education in eleven elementary schools in two counties. Pending parental consent, children are provided a dental exam, digital x-rays, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants, and if necessary, fillings and simple extractions by Columbia Memorial Hospital’s licensed dentist and hygienist. All services are provided regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

In anticipation of the challenges of the future and the expansion of the Mobile Dental Services program, awarded funds will be used to purchase a mobile generator to provide access to sites that do not have the specialized electrical outlet. This would allow the unit to travel to remote areas where low cost dental services are limited.

Dental services will also be available for children and adults during the summer months when the dental unit travels to various community sites. Adult services include dental cleanings, exams, digital x-ray, fillings and simple extractions. Appointments are available from June 15 – August 30 by calling the Mobile Dental Health Services office . By calling (518-697-7892)

North Country Children's Clinic

North Country Children’s Clinic is the recipient of a $5,000 prize from the New York State Dental Foundation, to expand of its Preventive Dentistry Program to reach greater numbers of military families and reach 1,800 children. The Clinic, which was nominated by Jefferson County Public Health Services, will educate parents about the importance of consistent oral care and its relationship to children’s overall health. The GKAS Award will enable young children to access a dental home in order to detect and treat dental conditions at the earliest onset, thereby resulting in lower rates of cavities. For more information on this worthy program, go to www.childrens-clinic.org.