FirstHealth Moore Regional Auxiliary to Hold Dental Care Supply Drive
| Date Posted: 4/25/2014
PINEHURST – Help Captain Fluoride save a smile!
The mascot for FirstHealth Dental Care is encouraging Moore County residents to assist in saving young smiles by donating dental care supplies during the Help Captain Fluoride Save a Smile dental supply drive scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 3 at the Walmart in Aberdeen.
The second annual drive is sponsored by the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary and was created to ensure that underserved children in the community receive the necessary care and preventive items needed for proper dental care.
Supplies needed include child and adult sized toothbrushes, dental floss and toothpaste.
The MRH Auxiliary aims to support the health of children in the community. Examples of the auxiliary’s focus include funding of school gardens to teach young children how to produce healthy foods, contributing funds to a teen tobacco cessation program offered by FirstHealth Community Health Services and the dental care supply drives.
“This drive is exactly the type of project that fits within the Auxiliary’s purpose,” says Sarah Ellman, chair of the Moore Regional Auxiliary. “Dental supplies are critical to pediatric tooth care, yet can go unpurchased due to the cost. It is our hope that this drive will help to provide the necessary tools for dental care for the underserved children in our community.”
“This is the second year Walmart in Aberdeen has agreed to be a host site for this event,” she says. “We are extremely grateful for their support.”
FirstHealth has provided dental care to underserved children, from birth to age 21, in Moore, Montgomery and Hoke counties since 1998. On average, they see a total of more than 1,000 visits a month while accepting around 100 new patients per month.
Seventy percent of the children seen during the first year at FirstHealth Dental Care had either never seen a dentist or haven’t been to the dentist in more than a year.
Services that are offered include preventive dental sealants, cleanings and exams, white and silver fillings, extractions and spacers.
For more information on FirstHealth Dental Care or the Dental Care Supply Drive, please call Kristen Stables at (910) 692-5111.
