CAPTION: Benco Dental’s Bob Frein takes part in a fundraiser for the Kids’ Community Dental Clinic.

Quiet on the set.

Not much chance of that at the Media Studios North in Burbank, California September 13.

On that particular Saturday, Silverlake Brass Quintet entertained while the studios played host to a fundraiser for Kids’ Community Dental Clinic, an organization created “to fill a crucial need and gap in oral health care services for children of low income working families.”

A children’s dental clinic existed in Burbank for almost 35 years through the generosity of the Sisters of Providence, St. Joseph Medical Center. When the hospital dental clinic closed in 1997, many working parents had a difficult time finding convenient and low cost dental care for their children. In 2002, after much planning and with strong local support, Kids’ Community Dental Clinic opened its doors to every child in need.

The Kids’ Community Dental Clinic provides high quality, low cost dental services and preventive dental care to children, ages 1-19, whose families have very limited or no resources for dentistry. Their primary services are: dental check-ups, fillings, cleanings, dental education and X-rays.

The clinic charges a nominal fee per visit for standard check-ups, cleanings, x-rays and fillings. For some extensive dental procedures (such as root canals and crowns), additional fees (at substantially reduced rates) will apply. Costs are kept to a minimum through the generosity of volunteer dentists and hygienists.

Benco Dental, the nation’s fastest growing dental distributor, was in good company, among event sponsors that included Disney and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

The Clinic is able to offer low cost treatments because most of the staff members are unpaid volunteers. The Kids’ Community Dental Clinic provides a variety of volunteering opportunities for:

– Dentists
– Dentists
– Hygienists
– Donations of Dental Supplies (gloves, gowns, etc.)
– Dental Care specialists
– Dental Assistants
– Office Support
– Health Fair workers
– Students who need volunteer hours for school
– Donation of Office Supplies
– Donation of Kids prizes
– Newsletter Production
– Help with Fundraising

Volunteer dentists and specialists include: Richard Marias, DMD; Timothy Knox, DDS; Astrid Soegaard, DMD; Keith Radack, DDS; Raffi Margossian, DDS, MSD; Shahriyar Banihashemi, DDS; Geoffrey Okada, DDS, MS; Frank Pita, DMD, MSD; Ricardo Gutierrez, DMD; Vivian Tom, DDS; Samvel Hunanian, DDS; Robert Albert, DDS; Punita Oswal, DDS; Robert Sue, DDS; Peter Shimizu, DDS; Antigone Skoulas, DDS and Manny Macias, DDS.

Volunteer Register Dental Hygienists include: Janett Unda-Alvarez, RDHEF; Trudy Schuckers, RDH; Staci Asano, RDH; Christa Jackson, RDH and Josie Dizon-Baquiran, RDH.

To volunteer, call 818-841-8010 to volunteer.