III 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 369 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 7, 2006 Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Congratulating the American Dental Association for sponsoring the 4th annual Give Kids a Smile program, which emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children, and thanking dentists for volunteering their time to help provide needed dental care.

Whereas access to dental care for children is a vital element of overall health care and development; Whereas dental caries (more commonly known as tooth decay) is the most common chronic childhood disease; Whereas untreated tooth decay results in thousands of children experiencing poor eating and sleeping patterns, suffering decreased attention spans at school, and being unable to smile; Whereas due to a confluence of factors, children eligible for Medicaid and the State children's health insurance program are 3 to 5 times more likely than other children to experience and suffer from untreated tooth decay; Whereas dentists provide an estimated $1,700,000,000 annually in non-reimbursed dental care; Whereas nearly 11,000 dentists provided approximately $33,000,000 of free care to almost 500,000 children in the 3rd annual Give Kids a Smile program held on February 4, 2005; Whereas the participation of dentists in the 4th annual Give Kids a Smile program, established and sponsored by the American Dental Association and held on February 3, 2006, serves to remind people in the United States about the need to end untreated childhood dental disease; and Whereas the generous support of numerous corporations, such as Crest Healthy Smiles, Sullivan-Schein Dental, and DEXIS Digital X-ray Systems, helps make the Give Kids a Smile program a success: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)congratulates the American Dental Association for establishing and continuing its sponsorship of the Give Kids a Smile program; (2)emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children; and (3)thanks the thousands of dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and others who volunteered their time to bring a smile to the faces of hundreds of thousands of children on February 3, 2006.