(Bradenton, Fla., June 13, 2024) — State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) and community clinicians are partnering to provide access to occupational therapy and dental hygiene care at no cost to Manatee County school-aged children in need. Through SCF’s Healthy Smiles project, SCF Dental Hygiene and Occupational Therapy Assistant program students recently delivered more than $2,400 worth of free dental X-rays, exams, cleaning, fluoride treatment, nutritional counseling, patient education and sensory assessment to children during a two-day event at the Dental Hygiene Clinic at SCF Bradenton.

SCF Occupational Therapy Assistant and Dental Hygiene program faculty and local dentists also give back to their communities as part of Healthy Smiles. SCF received a $10,000 community service grant from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association Mars Wrigley Foundation to fund the project.

Tooth decay is the number one chronic childhood illness in America resulting in devastating consequences to children’s health and wellness. Healthy Smiles will continue to connect children to the dental hygiene care and education needed for better oral health and lives.

For more information on the SCF Dental Hygiene Clinic, visit SCF.edu/Explore/Dental-Hygiene-Clinic/.