BANGOR, Maine — On Friday, the University of Maine Augusta will be hosting its "Give Kids a Smile Day" dental clinic one more time this season.
The clinic will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UMA Dental Hygiene Clinic located on UMA's Bangor campus at 201 Texas Avenue.
Parents can bring their kids as young as five and as old as 19 to obtain free dental care and restorative treatments.
They can schedule a free dental appointment to get cleanings, exams, x-rays, fluoride treatments, and dental hygiene education.
Students in the college's dental hygiene program will mutually benefit from the event by learning under the supervision of dentists to treat and care for children's hygiene and restorative needs.
One student expressed many parents' frustration in getting dental care appointments or not having the means to get treatment.
"Lot of [parents] come in, talk about how hard it's been, especially since COVID, to get into a dental office," student Abbie Worthley said.
Associate professor at UMA's dental hygiene program Katherine Kireburns praised the number of volunteer dentists inside and outside the clinic who supervise the dental clinic's students while treating the kids.
"We come together as a team. We have more volunteers from this day, not just here in this building, not just our faculty," Kireburns said. "But we [also] have volunteer dentists from the community that understand how valuable it is to get an exam for these children—to get evaluated for any restorative need that they might have."
Once the kids are evaluated, if kids need sealants or mouth guards, particularly if the kids play a sport, both procedures are done at no cost.
"Teeth that are sealed are safer and less likely to get decay than those that are not," Kireburns said.
Students from UMA's dental hygiene program will be providing care with the aid of staff dentists and faculty members from UMA's dental health programs and volunteer dentists from the community.
A soon-to-be graduate of the clinic's program, Trisha Limeburner, said serving the kids while learning to treat them makes it worthwhile.
"It's a lot of fun, it's exciting. Something we look forward to. It feels good to give back to the community because it is free," Limeburner said.
The children will be served while maintaining all necessary COVID-19 protocols. The UMA Dental Hygiene Clinic operates according to the American Dental Association and Maine CDC recommended safety requirements and precautions.
The clinic is being held in partnership with the American Dental Association.
For more information and to register with the clinic, you can visit their website.