[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 15 (Thursday, February 9, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY--GIVE KIDS A SMILE DAY

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on February 3, 2006, the 
University Of Mississippi Medical Center School of Dentistry hosted 
``Give Kids A Smile Day/National Children's Dental Access Day.'' This 
event is part of a national initiative by the American Dental 
Association to focus attention on the epidemic of untreated oral 
disease among disadvantaged children. As part of this program, 40,000 
dental professionals and volunteers provided free educational, 
preventive, and restorative dental services to children from low-income 
families at 2,000 locations across the country. In Mississippi, more 
than 1,200 children from elementary schools in Jackson, MS, and the 
Mississippi Delta visited the dental school and the School of Nursing 
Mobile Dental Van for dental services. The event was cosponsored by the 
Mississippi Dental Association, the Medical Center School of Health 
Related Professions, the Medical Center School of Nursing, the School 
of Dentistry's ACT Center, and the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation. 
Events such as this raise public awareness of dental disease and 
highlight the ongoing challenges faced by disadvantaged children in 
accessing dental care.
  I applaud the efforts of the University of Mississippi Medical Center 
School of Dentistry, the Mississippi Dental Association, and other 
supporting organizations for their efforts to combat childhood dental 
disease in Mississippi.

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