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Good job. You want some more water? Smile Kentucky is a great opportunity for dental
students and also for the kids in the outlying communities. Obviously, this event focuses
on treating kids and a lot of these kids are coming from areas where they're not getting
a lot of dental care, a lot of dental exposure, so we really focus a lot on teaching these
kids oral hygiene and, you know, just kind of teaching them about their mouths and kind
of how to take care of their teeth. So, it's really educational for us because we have
to apply all the things that we've been learning in school and try to teach it in a way that
these kids will be excited about and be willing to do it at home. There were a number of us
that came together, including the Louisville Water Company and a number of professional
organizations, felt there was a need to do more than just screening children at school
and because of the problems with access to care, we made the school available and dental
offices available throughout the city to help treat these children. It was absolutely amazing,
just to be able to help kids that you know aren't fortunate enough to go see their dentist
every six months like they should and can't really afford to go to the dentist and just
to be a part of that and know that you're making a difference. It's really awesome.
When the children come to a venue like this, they appreciate what's going on. They don't
leave here with tears. They usually leave with smiles. It's engaging the community from
the standpoint that we feel we need to give back to the community and we also want to
certainly train our students and expose them to the need and importance it is to give back
to society.