We only had 7 kids today with Dental problems.A few root canals ,4 extractions a zillion cavities, a sprinkling of braces here and there..But then its only Monday.Every day we upgrade our terminology ,at first we called the dental situation a situation: all kids have cavities,then we called it a dental problem, root canal at 7 yrs old ?,then we referred to it as a "challenge",braces for how many ? all medically needed ..it is now called a dental crisis..thats why getting this Dental Bus up and running is so important to this community.Without prevention in the early years, the crisis will become an epidemic.We can't afford to wait for someone eles to do something..Its now or in some cases like Terry Beth's it may be too late.

When you look at Terry Beth you see a beautiful 15 year old girl.What you don't see is the 10" long scar on her chest.We met Terry and her mom because she had an abscessed tooth.They couldn't afford to have the tooth pull,no insurance due to a change in circumstances..no where to go. CVHN called one of our volunteer providers the tooth got pulled but the delay caused Terry to have the infection go to her heart.She was rushed to Shands Hospital in Gainesville where she had open heart surgery.The recovery was slow.Today she is back on her dance team and playing in the school band.Her nickname is Cherios."thanks for taking care of cherios,we would be lost with out her,"says her Band director. We all would!

The Just for Grins Dental Bus Program is one step close to becoming a reality. Children's Volunteer Health Network, the parent organization of the Just For Grins Program, learned last week that the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida will be providing about 50% of the funding needed to operate the program for the first year. This was indeed good news. Now Just For Grins is one step closer to helping children who have needs for dental care and cannot afford it. Now any support we can get from the Case Foundation or any other donors becomes even more important so that we can earn our way into funding to secure the Just For Grins Program. So, thank you to the Case Foundation and thank you to the Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida.