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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Philanthropy, Public Foundations
Mission: To provide dental sealant to all elementary and junior high school students in the grand prairie independent school district. To support the charitable and educational opportunities locally, nationally and internationally of the programs of rotary international and of the rotary club of grand prairie.
Programs: From november 2nd to november 9th 2013, six rotarians and five non-rotarians went to granada, nicaragua to partner with the local rotary club providing dental care to school age children.
the grand prairie rotary club sponsors the dental sealant program by its purchase of a mobile dental unit and the necessary supplies and materials. This mobile dental unit allows the club's dentists and dental hygienist to travel to the schools for the initial screenings and the subsequent placement of the sealants. Each fall semester, a rotarian dentist travels to the identified schools to screen all second and sixth graders. Each student is given an oral exam to check for decay, proper eruption of permanent teeth, any other dental abnormalities and possible indication for dental sealants. If their first permanent molars are decay free, they are then deemed eligible for dental sealants. In the spring semester, a dental sealant is placed on the surfaces of back permanent decay-free molars of those students identified in the fall. A sealant is a thin plastic coating applied to the decay-free teeth to protect the deep pits and fissures from trapping bacteria and plaque, causing dental decay. Food and bacteria cannot penetrate this seal, providing 100% protection form decay on these surfaces. The application is simple, painless and can be done on site. Clinical studies show a sealant lasts on the average of 7 years. In current programs, decay rate has been decreased by 30% in just 2 years.