HEALTHY SMILES OF SPARTANBURG INC
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Mission Statement
To advocate and promote the health of Spartanburg and Cherokee County children through community dental health screenings, education, and oral health services for qualifying children at no cost to their families.
About This Cause
Healthy Smiles (HS) began as a coordination and referral program designed to ensure access to equitable and quality dental care for children whose families cannot afford their dental treatment. We also educate children, their parents or caregivers, teachers, school nurses, and the general public about the need for dental disease prevention through a variety of special dental events, counseling and outreach activities. Through Healthy Smiles’ partnership with all seven school districts, Healthy Smiles implemented a screening program modeled after the Carol H. Drum Screening Program in 2008, screening children in K4, K5, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades. In the 2022-2023 academic year, over 22,000 children were screened in a school-based setting and health fairs, helping to identify children who qualify for Healthy Smiles’ no cost dental services. In the 2011- 2012 academic year, Healthy Smiles implemented an adolescent screening program, increasing adolescents seen in the free dental clinic by 32%. in 2015, a mobile clinic pilot program began in Spartanburg School Districts 1, 3 & 7. In 2018-2019, Spartanburg Regional Foundation funded portable dental equipment to serve District One, Three, and Seven. Additionally, portable dental events are held at community events as well as Cherokee County. 2022-2023 further exploration of delivering services at resource centers and schools, churches, in all districts. To qualify for Healthy Smiles Free Dental Clinic, a child has no dental insurance, no Medicaid and age 4 - 18. If a child qualifies for Medicaid, HS will treat this child until they have made it through the Medicaid processing period. Applications are reviewed for qualifications and if the applicant appears to qualify for Medicaid, a SC Thrive representative will interview and submit an application for the parent/caregiver. Once qualified for Medicaid, HS provides a list of resources in Spartanburg County. Through the generosity of Spartanburg Community College, we established a no cost pediatric dental clinic in 2007. Healthy Smiles provides treatment on Fridays and Saturdays twice a month at the dental training facility located at SCC central campus (Giles Campus). These weekend clinics dramatically increase the number of patients receiving treatment throughout our community. To date, Healthy Smiles has provided 8,046 children with critical dental care at no cost to their families since the inception of the no cost dental clinic in 2007. According to the Spartanburg Indicators Report 2016, dental conditions are the third highest number of ER visits. Average cost for dental related ER visits exploded to an avg cost of $2,286. In the HS’ fiscal year 2022-2023, 579 children were treated in HS free dental clinic, saving Spartanburg County taxpayers $1,323,594 in ER visits for dental diagnosis and a cost saving of $344,335 to families living in poverty.