Giving kids a smile

This past weekend I helped make a lot of kids smile....including Mya. I participated in Utah's annual "Give Kids a Smile," and we helped nearly 200 kids have better smiles. We did this because 25 dentists, 25 hygienists, 50 dental assistants and 50 BYU Pre-Dental students volunteered their time to help underprivileged children within the ages 4-12. I saw four kids get root canals, over 150 kids get multiple cavities filled, all 200 kids had their teeth cleaned, and both kids and parents received dental education by yours truly. I can't tell you how many times I asked parents to demonstrate how they brush their own teeth. So many told me they only brush the front visible teeth. Hence, they don't teach their kids to brush their molars and well, I saw one little 6 yr. old who needed to have 16 teeth extracted because they were all rotten. We were not prepared to help that little boy that day, but he received a FREE voucher to see a pediatric dentist. If any dentist could not finish the treatment needed, the family received a free voucher to visit the dentist at his office. It was an amazing and yet sad experience. I love but hate my job because it makes me sad to see how many people are not educated about their health. I have so many crazy experiences daily at my job that if you are interested, I can share at a later time, but I didn't realize small children were going to have similar problems. Let's just say that at our school we grade teeth on an A to E system. A being the best and D and E being the worst...just like a normal grading scale. Daily, most of the adults I translate for are D patients with mobile teeth and infected gums. Sadly, 125 of the kids were D and E patients. Kids are normally A patients because their teeth are so young and strong. So it was definitely an interesting day. And I am just glad I was there to witness the magic. The first pictures were taken by Tim when he came to visit me. I think they turned out great.

Tim said this kid below just kept smiling at him while he had the
fluoride treatment in his mouth.

Look at that smile. So cute.

Now on to the making Mya smile. Mya loves pizza. We found this out when Tim gave her an entire slice and she nearly ate the entire thing. A girl after my own heart. I just love pizza. Especially Dominos.

She also smiles a lot when we take her to the park across the street. Taking her there makes me smile because I am instantly reminded that it is spring and jackets are now being left behind.

We all smiled with Eileen when she came to visit last Saturday night. We had so much fun coloring Easter eggs. I like when Eileen comes because we always to do fun things we did when we were kids. Thanks Eileen.

And do you want to know what makes Mya smile the most? Her daddy. Tim goes to school on Tuesday and Thursday morning, and it allows me to have some time with Mya alone. I have rearranged my schedule to stay later these days so that I can be home with Mya in the morning. Each time she wakes up, she begins with..."Daaaadeeee! Daaadeee!" and she runs into our bedroom and lifts up the covers thinking he is playing with her. Much to her dismay, he isn't. Then we run downstairs in search of food and she continues saying "Daaadeee, daadeee," and I am left trying to explain to her that daddy isn't here and that he will be home soon. So sad. She usually runs to the window several times to see if his car is parked in the driveway. When she realizes it is not, she turns around, looks at me and I swear I can almost hear her say, "Okay mom, I guess you'll do." This past Tuesday, after so many screams for daddy, I encouraged her to find things that reminded her of her daddy. She instantly found his church shoes and his hat. I snapped the following pictures. I especially love the one with her puckered lips. She loves saying "Shoe." I love when she says it. She is talking a lot more now. I love it. I can't wait for sentences to come out of her mouth. For now, I will stick with the one word requests. Especially the one that makes her smile most. The one when she screams, "Daddy!"