Thanks to Tech Valley Healthy Kids Inc., St. Peter's Hospital, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities, the City School District of Albany is poised to offer free and full dental care to students at Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy, North Albany Academy, TOAST, Sheridan Preparatory Academy, and Giffen Memorial Elementary School.
Dental care will be provided by St. Peter's Hospital in a 40-foot "Care Mobile" funded through grants from Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Care Mobile is a modern, fully equipped health care facility on wheels. It will be staffed with dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and a coordinator. Staff will be bilingual.
Enrolled students will receive a complete dental checkup, including x-rays, a dental cleaning, and a fluoride treatment to prevent cavities. Other services provided, as needed, include sealants, fillings, root canal therapy, extractions, and caps. Local anesthesia (to numb the tooth) is used for these procedures when necessary. There will be no "out of pocket" costs to parents for any of the Care Mobile services.
The City School District of Albany recognizes regular dental care is essential to good overall health, and this initiative is an expansion of its efforts to improve the oral health of students. Consider:
* Tooth decay is five times more common than asthma
* Pain from dental disease is a leading cause of school absenteeism for 5 to 9 year olds
* Too often disease goes untreated due to a lack of affordable dental care.
Your child must be enrolled to take advantage of these services. If your child will be attending Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy, North Albany Academy, TOAST, Sheridan Preparatory Academy, or Giffen, please follow the links for enrollment forms:
Required patient health information form
Letter to parents about the program
Return the completed forms to your child's school. If you have any questions or need assistance with the forms, please contact Blythe Thompson, program coordinator, at 518-525-1773.
Over the past two years the City School District of Albany has welcomed "Seal A Smile" into our elementary buildings. Through this program our partners at Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center and the Healthy Capital District Initiative have offered dental screenings, fluoride treatments, and sealants to many students in our elementary schools. This program will continue in elementary buildings not served by the Care Mobile.