For this year’s annual Toy Shop, Dolls for Daughters® will be teaming up with KIND Smiles to talk with families about oral health issues. Kids In Need of Dentistry (KIND) is a nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, affordable dental care to children in need throughout Colorado. Since 1912, KIND has helped thousands of children each year get the dental services they need at a cost their families can afford. I am honored to be partnering with KIND to bring even more to our DfD families!
Here are some facts from KIND’s website. Did you know that a child’s oral health plays an important role in his or her overall health and wellness? Just as childhood immunizations affect an individual’s long-term health, dental care and the habits formed during childhood have a lifelong impact. It is important that children establish good dental habits early, creating the foundation for a lifetime of healthy teeth. In the United States, 25 percent of children and adolescents – typically those from families with low incomes and from minority groups – experience 80 percent of all dental decay occurring in permanent teeth. And…tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Today, nearly 300,000 children in Colorado need restorative care – often because they cannot access or afford dental services, or because of inadequate levels of fluoride in community water supplies. Early childhood tooth decay dramatically increases a child’s risk of future decay. To learn more about KIND and all they do for Colorado families, visit their website at www.kindsmiles.org.
One other interesting fact is that 7.8 million school hours are missed each year in Colorado ALONE because of oral health issues. With knowledge and the tools to create good dental hygiene, along with affordable dental services, we can make a difference to lower the amount of hours missed from school each year.
Dolls for Daughters® has also secured 1,000 tubes of toothpaste from Dr. Gary Radz of Cosmetic Dentistry of Colorado. And this is just the beginning. With more than six months until our Toy Shop, we expect to have much more to offer to support good dental hygiene. If you or someone you know wants to support this portion of our Toy Shop, you can make a donation online or mail a check to Dolls for Daughters®, P. O. Bo 202095, Denver, CO 80220. We are asking for monetary donations this year in lieu of donations of toothbrushes and toothpaste because we are working with local dentists to secure these donations or be able to purchase them at a lower cost. Your donations of money will help us coordinate our efforts to improve the dental hygiene of our families’ children.
As always, we are still collecting new toys for boys and girls ages birth to 18. Our annual toy drive will be held October 1st through the first week of December.
As always, none of our efforts would be as impactful as they are if it weren’t for your support. We continue to be grateful for all that people do to support Dolls for Daughters® and our expanding vision via your donations of time and money. Thank you so much!
