Oral Health

Special Olympics Special Smiles Georgia

Athletes participating in the Georgia Special Olympics Summer Games in Atlanta on Saturday, May 22, 2004 received free oral health screenings, compliments of Special Olympics, Special Smiles.

Special Olympics, Special Smiles is a national dental screening, education and referral program that operates under the auspices of Special Olympics, Inc. The program was developed by Dr. Steven Perlman in 1993, and first implemented at the Special Olympics Massachusetts Games that year. Special Olympics, Special Smiles was run by the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine until it was officially recognized and adopted by Special Olympics in 1997. The program is now one of the lead components of the Special Olympics' Healthy Athletes initiative, created to focus attention on the overall health issues facing Special Olympics athletes. It is implemented in partnership with Special Olympics International, Oral Health America, and the Academy of Dentistry for Persons With Disabilities.

This was the tenth year dental screenings have been provided at the Georgia Summer Games, compliments of the Georgia Special Olympics and the Georgia Oral Health Coalition. Drawing attention to the particular oral health concerns of people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities, Special Olympics, Special Smiles offers athletes one-on-one oral hygiene instruction and a non-invasive oral examination by a licensed dentist. Referrals for treatment are also made, as necessary, to local dentists.

The Special Olympics, Special Smiles event included four components:

• One-on-one hygiene instruction, typically given by a hygiene or dental student, which demonstrates and provides hands-on instruction on proper tooth brushing and flossing techniques. Sports mouth-guards are made available to athletes who need them.
• Non-invasive screening, which looks for visible cavities, broken or missing teeth, periodontal gingivitis and other problems.
• The collection of badly needed data on the population of persons with special needs.
• Take-away bags which include sample toothbrush, toothpaste and floss, as well as an instructional booklet on proper oral care, and a commemorative t-shirt and pin. Most importantly, athletes receive a copy of their screening form and a list of local dentists or other facilities that provide dental care for patients with special needs.