Millions of Americans are without access to basic dentistry, which is an essential element in maintaining good overall health. In 2020, with the impact of the health and economic crises, millions of additional children and adults are without access to the oral health care they need. Smile Generation Serve Day once again is answering the call to provide countless patients with donated dentistry. Taking place on Saturday, August 15, this annual day of service is part of a nationwide campaign of giving that focuses on dental care. Smile Generation Serve Day lives at the heart of the Smile Generation’s culture of service. Hundreds of Smile Generation-trusted dental practices will be providing donated dentistry to underserved members of their communities.
“Smile Generation Serve Day is an extremely rewarding day for the dentists and their teams, and for the patients who never thought they would have the opportunity to receive this level of care,” said Kyle Guerin, Director, Pacific Dental Services® & Corporate Social Responsibility. “It’s a privilege to be able to help so many underserved patients regain their confidence and their smiles.”
After Innocence: Giving a New Start to Life
This year, the Smile Generation will join forces with After Innocence, a non-profit organization that serves more than 500 exonerees nationwide, to provide donated dentistry to women and men who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. These innocent men and women, many of whom served decades in prison, are trying to rebuild their lives. After Innocence, a 501(c)(3) public charity headquartered in Oakland, California, provides reliable, efficient re-entry assistance for America’s wrongfully convicted. The organization advocates with exonerees for laws that provide them with meaningful compensation and effective re-entry support.
“Dental care is a major issue for so many exonerees and working with the Smile Generation has given many of them a level of care that would have been otherwise unobtainable,” said Jon Eldan, Founder and Executive Director of After Innocence. “Most exonerees didn’t receive good dental care while they were in prison, and some developed serious problems as a result. Once released, they found it difficult to get affordable dental care. That's why our partnership with Smile Generation Serve Day is a game-changer for many of our exonerees. The scope of the work these dentists do for our exoneree-clients is just extraordinary.”
This Saturday, Smile Generation-trusted dentists will be offering patients comprehensive oral health care, including cleanings, x-rays, scaling and root planing, restorations, and extractions. Since its inception in 2011, more than 19,000 patients have received donated dental services during Smile Generation Serve Day, totaling $32 million in oral health care.
