On February 7, NorthShore Health Centers held its first Give Kids a Smile Day event of the year. Parents could bring their underinsured children aged 1 to 17 to one of NorthShore’s dental clinics in Hammond, Lake Station, Portage, Crown Point, Merrillville, or Chesterton for free X-rays, exams, cleanings, and fluoride treatments. Another Give Kids a Smile Day will be held later in the year to ensure that the children can have their teeth cleaned and checked every six months, the recommended frequency of dental appointments for youth.
Raheel Khatri, general dentist at NorthShore Health Centers, will have been with the organization for 5 years in April. This is the ninth time he has participated in Give Kids a Smile Day, and he is pleased to be supporting the program at NorthShore’s Hammond branch this year.
"I'm thrilled that we're able to offer these services to the community," Khatri said. "We're able to bring kids in to get their mouths a little bit healthier and educate their parents on proper oral hygiene and oral health. If necessary, we're also able to make referrals to specialists to make sure the kids are getting the care they need. NorthShore Health has an extensive presence in the Region, so no matter where you live in Northwest Indiana, you'll have a NorthShore Health Center dental clinic near you where your child can receive quality treatment.”
NorthShore services patients in Lake, La Porte, Porter, and Jasper Counties and offers a wide variety of health services, including optometry, behavioral health, endocrinology, and weight loss management services. As a non-profit, federally qualified health center, NorthShore receives government funding. With this support, NorthShore can offer its patients low- and no-cost health services. It also offers patients a sliding fee scale payment system. This scale adjusts in accordance with each patient’s household income and can provide them with discounts for NorthShore’s health services.
During the Give Kids a Smile Day exams, Khatri and his team of hygienists at the Hammond branch were sure to inform the patients’ parents of any issues they noticed and answer whatever follow-up questions the parents had for them. Khatri and his team also worked to ensure that each patient was as relaxed as possible during their exam and cleaning. Khatri recommends that parents take their children to this dentist as early as possible, even if the child only has a single tooth. Not only can this help the child establish healthy dental habits as they grow, but it can benefit them in another important way too.
“When parents bring their child to the dentist while they’re very young, it helps them get used to the experience more easily,” Khatri said. “One of the most common apprehensions that people have about going to the dentist is that it’s going to hurt. However, cleanings and exams are generally painless, so Give Kids a Smile day is an awesome opportunity for kids to have a pain-free experience in a dental clinic. If they unfortunately had a bad experience at the dentist in the past, here at NorthShore we can provide them with a good experience and try to allay Ideally, this will prevent them from developing an underlying fear of the dentist in the future.”
Khatri enjoys seeing both familiar patients as well as new ones while participating in Give Kids a Smile Day this year. He appreciates the event’s ability to support the community’s families.
“I hope the parents and kids are pleased with the services their kids have received here today,” Khatri said. “We try to create a very welcoming and nurturing environment here at NorthShore. The providers here stick around for a long time because they love what they do. Our hygienists and assistants are wonderful, and we all do our best to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible. We’re very mission-driven. Our goal is to build relationships and make sure that we're able to provide for the community. We want them to feel that they can count on us when they come to be treated and trust that we'll take good care of them.”
Please visit northshorehealth.org for more information on NorthShore Health Centers’ services and future events.