Free Dental Care For Kids In Bloomfield: Nonprofit To Hold 2024 Event

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A New Jersey nonprofit will be celebrating National Children’s Dental Health Month by offering free dental services to underserved kids at its locations in Bloomfield, Newark and Trenton.

KinderSmile Foundation will launch its 2024 Give Kids a Smile event on Friday, Feb. 2. All uninsured children aged 13 and under will receive free initial exams, dental cleaning and fluoride treatment. Learn more here.

This year – thanks to a grant from the Delta Dental of NJ Foundation – the annual effort will continue throughout the entire month of February.

KinderSmile has locations at the following sites:

• Bloomfield – 10 Broad Street
• Newark – 1 Avon Avenue
• Trenton – 101 N. Broad Street

Organizers expect to provide preventative dental care to hundreds of children in New Jersey during this year’s outreach effort.

“Last year during our Give Kids a Smile events, we provided care to over 730 underserved children, and oral health education to an additional 700 children at schools and community centers,” KinderSmile Foundation COO Michal Herman said.

According to the nonprofit, many dental woes are preventable. But dental disease remains the most common chronic childhood disease in the nation.

It’s not only health that can suffer because of dental problems. Children who have poor oral health have increased school absenteeism and lower school performance, the nonprofit says.

• See Related: Many Kids Are Struggling To Get Dental Care, NJ Nonprofit Says

With many low-income people from “marginalized communities” facing higher rates of dental disease – and a lack of access to health care – taking action is crucial to achieving “oral health equity” in New Jersey, KinderSmile says.

Meanwhile, the state continues to make progress on that front, the nonprofit added:

“In 2023, New Jersey expanded Medicaid coverage (NJ FamilyCare) for all qualified children, regardless of immigration status, but families are still struggling with trust and with the process. Volunteers and representatives from New Jersey’s Managed Care Organizations, which are responsible for NJ FamilyCare, will be onsite at all three locations, to help families sign up and navigate the Medicaid application process, in order to try to receive future medical and dental coverage for their children.”

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