DENTAL HEALTH FOR ARLINGTON INC

Dental Health Arlington (DHA) has been serving Tarrant County residents since 1992. Originally started from a United Way needs assessment, looking for affordable dental care in Tarrant County's Southeast territory. Volunteer dentists pooled their old dental equipment, instruments and office furnishings, & began working two days a week in a donated clinic in downtown Arlington. The dentists noticed a trend in the children coming to the clinic having extensive dental decay. Therefore, in 1993 DHA volunteers started a pilot program in the Arlington school system in two elementary schools providing preventive services and education for the parents and the students in 1st-4th grades.
Currently, the DHA Dental Clinic has a full-time staff and utilizes volunteer dentists, hygienists, assistants, & dental and dental hygiene students to treat the almost 3,000 patients per year. The clinic program allows low income residents of the area to access low cost dental services. Many of DHA's patient population only come to the clinic when they are in pain. They are suffering from abscessed teeth, swollen and bleeding gums, & infections. Many cannot eat and many times their health is compromised as a result of their dental disease. DHA is one of the only clinics that offers emergency spots in the schedule every day. The clinic is trying to provide a comprehensive approach to help the patients reach optimal dental health and teach "prevention is the key".
The school based program changed its name to SMILES (Sealing Molars Improves the Lives of Every Student) and has now grown to include 40 schools. Currently, the team educates approximately 10,000 students and gives fluoride treatments, sealants, and limited exams by the staff dentist, then refer the children that need dental work back to the school nurse and to their dental home. If they do not have a dental home the DHA Dental Clinic will treat their most immediate need for no cost to the parent. SMILES uses portable dental equipment and sets up in a different school each week. The staff provides oral hygiene and nutritional education as well as a free toothbrush to all 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade children. Then the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade children are screened and receive decay preventing sealants by licensed dental professionals with a signed permission slip from their parents. Of the 40 schools that DHA serves, 70% are on the free and reduced lunch programs.

Our Needs

DHA's current need is to provide funding for the SMILES School-Based Program. The DHA Dental Clinic is well on its way to becoming self-sustaining and providing low cost services to the community. However, the SMILES Program is a completely free program, to approximately 10,000 students in the Arlington ISD. SMILES relies completely on grants, donors and fundraising endeavors to keep this program working as it has for the last 30 years. We need to be creative in our funding streams of revenue and very prudent with our resources. North Texas Giving Day provides the DHA Smiles Program a perfect avenue for providing this much needed funding.