College of Dental Medicine Lasting Impressions Magazine

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 19 N o one could miss the many smiles of the young patients and their families, nor the dedication of the students and faculty members, during the College of Dental Medicine’s 15th annual Give Kids A Smile (GKAS). This year, about 230 children and young adults ranging in age from 2 to 21, including special-needs patients, received free dental care from more than 200 CDM students, 100 CDM faculty and staff members, and alumni. GKAS is a national program launched by the American Dental Association Foundation in 2003. Unlike many universities, however, the CDM’s pro- gram is student led and organized. CDM faculty members are on hand to supervise the dental students. Third-year student Joanna Theodorou and fourth-year student Victoria Gandarillas, best friends since ninth grade, were codirectors of the 2018 event. “Give Kids A Smile is just as important to the patients we treat as it is to us students,” said Theodorou, who also is secretary of the CDM’s Pediatric Dental Club. “It shows us there really is a tremendous need for oral health care in our community.” Third-year dental student Maria Rojas, and her team of CDM volunteers and predental students from Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University, decorated the clinic in the theme Into the Jungle. The previous evening, the continued on page 21