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TO APPLAUD THE DENTAL CARE PROVIDERS AND AUXILIARIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHO PROVIDE FREE DENTISTRY TO THE NEEDIEST CHILDREN IN THE STATE ON THE FIRST FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY EACH YEAR AND TO RECOGNIZE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2005, AS "SOUTH CAROLINA GIVE KIDS A SMILE DAY".
Whereas, "Give Kids A Smile Day" is a national charity event in which local dental care providers across the nation provide oral health education and services to needy children and their families and many children are exposed to dental offices and professions for the first time; and
Whereas, this event also highlights for policy-makers the distressing lack of access to dental care for so many children. This is such a critical issue because dental decay is a widespread problem that afflicts five times more children than asthma and seven times more children than hay fever; and
Whereas, an estimated twenty-three million children in America are without dental insurance and lack access to basic preventive and restorative dental care; and
Whereas, the future of South Carolina lies with its children and that future is dependant on the overall good health of our families; and
Whereas, oral health is directly linked with learning, development, self-esteem, and employability. Children with dental problems cannot eat and sleep properly, pay attention in school, or smile because they are needlessly suffering from a preventable disease; and
Whereas, last year through the "Give Kids A Smile" program almost $100,000 in free dental services were provided to over 890 children in South Carolina, while nationwide services in excess of $100 million were provided at 5,000 sites; and
Whereas, the "Give Kids A Smile" program not only educates children and their parents on good oral health care but helps to increase public awareness of dental problems and spotlights the barriers to care that exist across the country and asks our elected leaders to take notice and help make policies that will make events like these unnecessary in the future; and
Whereas, although the "Give Kids A Smile" program provides a great benefit, this charity alone cannot solve our children's oral health needs; and
Whereas, the grim reality is that for each child treated through the program many more are suffering without care. Good oral health can only be achieved through access to regular oral health care and good oral habits that are learned early and reinforced throughout life; and
Whereas, the dentists, hygienists, and assistants who volunteer with the "Give Kids A Smile" program across the nation, as well as those who provide their services free of charge each year to the neediest citizens of the State, are to be commended for their generosity and their unselfish efforts to address this problem; and
Whereas, the technical colleges of the State and the Medical University of South Carolina deserve special recognition for allowing a large part of the services to be rendered at their facilities and for the tremendous role they play each year in making this event possible; and
Whereas, it is with great pleasure that the South Carolina General Assembly joins with the dental care providers and institutions of higher learning in this State in their efforts throughout the State and nation to promote oral health awareness. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, applaud the dental care providers and auxiliaries in South Carolina who provide free dental care to the neediest children in the State on the first Friday of February each year and to recognize Friday, February 4, 2005, as "South Carolina Give Kids A Smile Day."
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