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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – The dentist is probably not some people’s favorite place to visit, especially children. However, the Rays Baseball Foundation teamed up with other organizations to replace fear with fun and give kids access to dental care.
Tropicana Field looked less like a parking lot Friday and more like a dentist’s office. Dr. Deborah Lowry was one of the volunteers who served the children at St. Pete through a dental clinic.
“Extractions, fillings, anything kids need,” said Dr. Lowry.
It was all in collaboration with TeamSmile, United Concordia Dental and the Rays Baseball Foundation.
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This was the third time that Dr. Lowry was a volunteer at TeamSmile.
“In St. Petersburg, there’s a lot of lack of access to care, and I used to go on mission trips to Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, but then I decided why not just spend time in our community,” Lowry said.
John McCarthy, CEO of TeamSmile, said the core of what they do is to provide free dental care and oral health education, but they want kids to be excited and have fun.
“It’s so important to get them on the right track while they’re young with their oral health, both with their education and overall care of their teeth,” McCarthy said. “We understand that overall oral health care is related to diabetes. related to heart health and your overall health, so if kids understand that at age 5, 6, 7, they have a lot more likely to take care of their teeth and therefore lead a healthier lifestyle when they grow up.”
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Between music, field fun and comfort in the form of stuffed animals, children faced the big dentist’s chairs, including 5-year-old Seliya.
“They told me the teeth are going to clean,” Seliya said.
The staff is expected to serve about 200 children.
