A local dental school will visit my child's school this week to give free dental exams. What will they do?

Will they actually fill any cavities my child has for free?

A local dental school will visit my child's school this week to give free dental exams. What will they do?
THEY WILL ONLY SEE THE GENERAL CONDITION OF THE TEETH AND GUMS. IF FURTHER TREATMENT IS NEEDED THEY WILL REFER YOU TO YOUR OWN DENTIST.
Reply:They will just check the oral hygiene and the teeth for cavities. They will not fill any teeth during this exam but will provide you a report of their findings. You can have dental work done by dental schools for a fraction of the cost of regular dentists.
Reply:No, they will look for teeth in need of proper care, such as toothbrushing, misalignment, gum disease and caries. They will send a report home with the children what they see - but they will not provide actual restorative or curative services for free. It's against the law to do that without first discussing the child's needs with a parent or legal guardian and getting that adult to give formal written permission.
Reply:REFUSE THIS! Unless you cannot afford actual dental care. These are students, hence the "school" part of "dental school." I wouldn't want a student poking around in my child's mouth. Then again, I'm not poor. As a student (not dental), I can safely say that that I don't know nearly enough about my area of study to give exams to ANYONE! God only knows how unqualified these students are to be giving away their "services" for FREE!
Reply:"James" is going a bit overboard. It is a very simple process- the students just look in the kids' mouths, play dentistry-related games (like have them brush a stuffed animal's teeth with a giant toothbrush), let the kids dress up in the white coats, and instruct them in proper brushing and flossing. Despite what "James" said, the students in question are fully able to do this. It's not as though they just started dental school last week- it's a 4-year program.
Reply:James, you are an idiot!


I am a 3rd year dental student, and though I am only a student, I do some fine dentistry. I have spent 40-60 hours a week, for the past 2 years in school learning and practicing dentristry. Now that I am in my 3rd year, I have 17 patients of my own. I make dentures, prep teeth for crowns, diagnose problems, do fillings and extractions and more. I did full-mouth extractions on a guy, with full mouth alveoloplasty (look that one up James) and placed 9 sutures by myself. The great part about dental school is that if you need help or advice, there are many attendings (Dentists) around who help out, and they are required to check everything that we do. We have our limitations (I can't do complicated osseous surgeries), but I am highly qualified to tell you if your child is high risk for cavities...as well as qualified to treat those children.


As for what will go on at your child's school, we did this our second year. We went to head start programs and looked in 4 and 5 year olds mouths to see if there was rampid caries or anything major going on. You child will most likely not receive a full exam that you would get at a dental office (no xrays, etc), but it is a good screening tool to differentiate the high risk children from the low risk children.


I think this is an amazing tool to raise awareness and get the child used to dentists. I only wish we had more opportunities to reach out to more children.





As for getting the fillings taken care of, you will have the option to take the child to a private practicing dentist or the dental school. The benefit to the dental school is that you will be offered the same procedure at a lower fee as well as work with a highly qualified Pediatric Dentist with the dental student. This isn't meant for "POOR" people. Some of my patients in the clinic are very affluent but do not have dental insurance or just prefer our clinics.





Best of luck to you!
Reply:i had this done 2 years ago when i was 9/10 all they do is they look at the childs teeth and if something is wrong like they have a cavity or something they will just send a letter home to notify you. they done make you have treatment





i had nothing wrong with them cavity wise i just have braces they didnt send a letter home 4 me woo !
Reply:The dentists will do an exam, just like you said.





They may give the kids disclosing tablets so they can see where they may have missed brushing... and then do some proper brushing techniques with a large toothbrush on a large model of teeth.





If any decay or abnormalities are found, a notice will be sent home indicating such... and it'll be up to you to follow through with any suggestions given.





Dental work cannot be performed since this is a child's school setting and not a dental operatory. Besides, they'd need signed parental consent.





Consider this a field trip, but instead of the kids leaving school, they're having the 'trip' come to them... and it'll be fun.