‘Tis the season for toothbrushes

20,000 toothbrushes that is. 

It’s the time of year when nonprofits are sending letters and emails to tell you why you should be supporting them. And OHP is no different. We rely on community support to help us continue to run our programs, treat uninsured kids, and more.

In that spirit, we’d like to highlight some of the amazing things you helped fund this year.

Uninsured dental visits

Lack of dental insurance can pose a big problem for families. This can cause them to delay routine care which can make it so issues aren’t apparent until they are emergencies. Kids having routine dental care can actually reduce emergency room visits. We do not turn away kids based on their ability to pay. All uninsured kids we see are covered by funds we have received through donations.

Bringing dental visits to kids

Our School-Based program is an awesome program that gets dental care right to kids at school. No worrying about scheduling appointments, or taking time off work. Every school we visit, we have at least one hygienist and one assistant to give screenings, cleanings, fluoride and sealants. The donations we received this past year enabled us to go back into schools with enhanced safety procedures and help cover the pay of the team that is treating the kids. So far this year, that’s over 1,400 kids!

Lots of toothbrushes!

We also hand out a lot of toothbrushes each year (and floss, and timers). Donations help us keep these items in stock and ready when needed. We hand these out at our clinics, at school visits and at community events. Each year, we give out about 20,000 toothbrushes! It may sound small, but some kids don’t have their own toothbrush, or can’t get a new one as often as they should. We are so glad that donors in the community allow us to give kids this basic care need.

Those are just a few of the things we are able to do because of donations from the community. We are grateful to those that have helped us keep smiles bright and healthy!