Giving kids healthy smiles

Dental hygiene student Lexi Penn and JJ De-Stefano-Malik (fourth and fifth from the left) pose with other Give Kids a Smile volunteers.

Texas A&M College of Dentistry joined the Dallas County Dental Society Feb. 6 for its annual Give Kids a Smile hosted at L.P. Cowart Elementary School in Dallas. GKAS is a long-standing community service initiative organized by DCDS to increase access to oral health education and dental care for children in the Dallas area.

As a collaborating partner, A&M Dentistry contributed dental and dental hygiene students who supported the event’s education and prevention activities. Children participated in interactive oral health stations, learned proper brushing techniques, and received dental screenings to help identify children who may need additional care.

All screening activities were supervised by Dr. Martha Alvarez, clinical faculty in pediatrics. 

Second-year dental student volunteers were Abby Bannerman, Sydney Daniels, Salma Cantu, Tyler LeBaron, Kimberly Koo, Adam Davidson and Bri Johnson. Second-year dental hygiene students who volunteered were Karis Ahn, Elizabeth Sanchez, Sarah Phillips, Lexi Penn, Reagan Snuggs, Megan Schoenemann, Olivia Weisskopf, Emily Pina, Kaylee Lindell, Nalley Gonzalez, JJ De-Stefano-Malik, Doan Trang La and Sophia Chacon.