Teen reaches new heights with healthy smile
Tyler before dental treatment, afraid to smileSeeing how poor oral health was eroding her grandson’s self esteem, Tyler’s grandmother reached out to Tomorrow’s SMILES®, a teen program of National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s Toothfairy® (NCOHF), which provides promising, at-risk teens with comprehensive oral health services to prepare them for healthy, successful futures. Sponsored by the Patterson Foundation and Philips Sonicare, Tomorrow’s SMILES restores smiles and self-esteem while encouraging teens to take responsibility for their oral health. Through this program, caring volunteer dentists provide pro bono restorative services for a prescreened underserved teen, and have access to generously donated products from Invisalign® and Nobel Biocare™ (including Procera®). Participating teens Pay It Forward by serving as mentors and teachers to children. They encourage good oral health habits that will help them maintain beautiful smiles throughout their lives, and help to break the cycle of pediatric dental disease in their community.Thanks to Leonard Hess, DDS, a Dawson Academy faculty member, and J. Turner Hull, DDS, MS, Tyler is receiving life-changing oral health services. “Tyler is a great young man and we share a common interest in aviation. I could see how important it was for him to feel good about his smile. To be able to make such a positive impact on this teen’s life is extremely gratifying,” said Dr. Hess, a pilot, about helping Tyler through Tomorrow’s SMILES. Volunteering their time and expertise, these dentists serve as positive role models to Tyler in addition to giving him the gift of a smile