BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation grant helps fund FDTC’s Little Smiles Free Children’s Dental Care Event
Florence-Darlington Technical College’s Dental Hygiene Department will host its 4th Annual Little Smiles Free Children’s Dental Care event on February 16 and 17 in honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month.
The event will provide free services, including dental assessments, x-rays, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and sealants to children of all ages.
“We look forward to Little Smiles Day each year,” Emily Brown, Program Director of Dental Hygiene said. “This is a special day when our senior and freshman dental hygiene students and dental assisting students come together to provide much-needed dental care and oral health education to children in our local community. For many of these children, this may be their only opportunity to receive dental care, and it gives our students the chance to make a meaningful difference by teaching them the importance of good oral health.”
The Little Smiles event is funded, in part, this year and next, thanks to a generous grant from The BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation. These funds will help purchase essential supplies for the event, as well as equipment for the dental program, including a new laser, sterile straws, laptops, and digital radiograph sensors.
FDTC is also partnering with Clemson Extension to extend dental care and oral hygiene education to underserved areas in the community. This collaboration will provide critical services to patients in need while offering valuable real-world experience for dental hygiene and assisting students outside the campus clinic. In addition to promoting healthy smiles, this event also provides hands-on training for FDTC students in the Dental Hygiene and Expanded Duty Dental Assisting programs.
Little Smiles will take place at FDTC’s Health Sciences campus, located at 320 West Cheves Street in Florence. Sessions are scheduled for Monday, February 16, from 1-5 p.m., and Tuesday, February 17, from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m.
Appointments are required and can be scheduled by calling (843) 661-8224 or visit fdtc.edu/little-smiles-at-fdtc. Spots are limited, so families are encouraged to book early.
To learn more about the Dental Hygiene and Expanded-Duty Dental assisting programs, visit FDTC.edu.
The BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation is an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.