Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC) will roll out its new mobile dental vehicle, the Smile Bus, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Leadbetter Beach parking lot.
Dental care is important for kids to maintain good teeth and gum health, to ensure they can chew and speak properly, and to establish lifelong healthy habits, SBNC said.
Dental care is important for overall healthcare because oral health is directly linked to general health.
Dental decay is the leading disease in children worldwide. Nationally, more than 34 million school hours are missed across the nation every year due to dental-related treatment, SBNC reports.
SBNC Dental Health Outreach Program started operating the Smile Van two years ago within the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) to provide dental screenings; fluoride varnish applications; and follow-up comprehensive dental care to students who needed dental treatment.
The school-based program’s benefits are widespread. Students spend less time out of class since the treatment is done at their school; parents don’t have to take time off of work to go to their child’s appointment; and SBNC can serve more patients in its brick-and-mortar clinics because the school visits do not take up an appointment at the clinic.
After a successful first year screening at all nine SBUSD elementary schools and two middle schools, SBNC expanded services to Goleta Union School District (GUSD) in the 2024-25 school year, in addition.
Today, SBNC’s Dental Outreach Department provides a combination of dental screening and comprehensive dental treatments to 18 of Santa Barbara’s and Goleta’s elementary schools, as well as students of Carpinteria Children’s Project, summer attendees for the United Boys and Girls Club, and residents of Gardens on Hope and Garden Court.
Until now, SBNC’s Mobile Dental Clinic (smile van) has provided services to some 2,000 students. The Dental Outreach Program has provided dental kits and oral hygiene education to some 7,000 students.
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics’ dental services are continuing to expand and will be providing its mobile dental services to schools in the Carpinteria Unified School District in addition to the other schools and sites it serves.
For more about Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, visit www.sbclinics.org.
