The sharks weren't the only ones with gleaming teeth at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead Friday.
Kids got free checkups, cleanings and other dental care at the downtown aquarium, courtesy of volunteer dentists and staff members for the annual "Give Kids A Smile" day sponsored by the Suffolk County Dental Society and the American Dental Association. Also participating were students from Stony Brook University School of Dentistry.
On the first Friday in February each year, dentists and their staffs perform free oral health care services for low-income children in towns and cities across the country. "Give Kids a Smile" is a program of the American Dental Association.
Dentists treated between 50 and 60 children in Riverhead, and equal numbers at other locations, including Brentwood, Wyandanch and Bay Shore, Guenther Johnke, president of the Suffolk County Dental Society said Friday afternoon on a site visit to the aquarium. He and president-elect Nick Vittoria were on a tour of each "Give Kids a Smile" site in Suffolk on Friday.
Nationally, an estimated 300,000 children were expected to receive treatment on "Give Kids A Smile" day this year.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
