COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — National Children's Dental Health Month begins today. It teaches children about the importance of good oral hygiene at an early age.
News 5 takes a look at some important resources that are available in our community for families that can't afford to visit the dentist.
Just one dental procedure can cost you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. For many families that don't have any dental insurance it's all out of pocket costs.
Teaching young children good oral hygiene while they're still young could help protect their health as the grow. This is why Pediatric Dentists like Dan Hoang, DMD continue to promote preventative care.
"It prevents cavities. It prevents any issues with growth and development and it makes all the dental visits a lot easier if it's just checkups and cleanings," Hoang says.
Not everyone can afford these visits or they only see their dentist when a problem pops up. Hoang says there are important resources available right here in our community starting with the Department of Human Services.
"You can apply for Medicaid if that's the situation that you're in. You can look into the private market place and look for Delta Dental, Blue Cross Blue Shield. There are a lot of places especially if your employer doesn't offer dental insurance that you can get it."
Dr. Hoang says the need for low cost dental health care is massive here in the Springs.
"All these families that have children with significant needs, a lot of pain, infections and they just have no way to pay for care, and fortunately we're working with places such as Peak Vista to help get these families the care that they need."
Good news for parents like Christina Hamiter who want to keep their children's teeth nice and healthy.
"You only get one set of teeth and you know. It's just very important if everything goes wrong, and you can't afford to take care of them, it can cause infections, and infections can go to the brain, and you know it's just sad whenever you have to go around in pain like that because you can't afford it," Hamiter says.
Colorado Mission of Mercy also hosts dental clinics every year, free of charge. Their next scheduled clinic is in late September in Thornton.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
