DSO Shows Support for the Next Generation of Inspiring Dental Leaders

Founded by Vietnamese immigrant Dr. Tu Tran, Kool Smiles’ mission is to create an atmosphere of quality personalized care, where no one is turned away due to lack of finances or insurance. Dr Tran says, “Just because you grew up in a poor neighborhood, doesn’t mean that you should take a second seat to anybody else.” Last year, Kool Smiles gave away about 15 million dollars in services to patients who didn’t have the ability to pay. Dr. Tran believes that although we’ve come a long way in impacting the need of patients, we still have a long way to go.

Continuing their dedication to dental health education, community outreach, and charitable support for the next generation of inspiring leaders who are passionate about making a difference, the DSO, a leading provider of pediatric dental care in underserved communities nationwide, held its second annual My Kool Smiles Scholarship Fund essay contest, sponsored by the Benevis Foundation. The contest asked dental students to answer: “What is the biggest dental health challenge facing U.S. children today? What solutions would you support to address this challenge?”

Essays were reviewed by a selection committee composed of managing staff members at Kool Smiles. The decision of the panel was based on clarity of content (30%), originality and creativity (35%), and persuasiveness (35%). The essay winner is Heather Howell, a dental student at Oregon Health and Science University. She was awarded a $5,000 scholarship for her winning essay about the lack of accessibility being one of the biggest dental health challenges facing children in the United States.

“Lack of access to dental health care services is a public health issue for all ages; however, it is a large problem particularly for low-income children.” – Heather Howell, dental student at Oregon Health and Science University

Heather Howell

The OHSU dental student addressed some of the major obstacles children face in accessing dental healthcare, including distance, office hours availability and financial barriers. Howell saw many of these issues first-hand while growing up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. The solutions she provides in the essay include moving dentists beyond the confines of a dental office and into communities, establishing more flexible dental work hours and decreasing the cost of private health insurance.

“Although we can’t fix the lack of accessibility issue immediately, these are all key steps that we can begin taking to help kids achieve the dental care that they need,” wrote Howell.

“The 2018 essay contest asked students to identify and provide solutions to some of the biggest dental health challenges facing children in the United States,” said Dr. Dale Mayfield, Chief Dental Officer of Kool Smiles. “This year’s winner Heather Howell offered effective steps towards making dental healthcare more accessible to children in rural and low-income areas.”

Kool Smiles is also awarding a $500 book stipend to first runner-up, Vanessa Thai, a graduate student at Boston University currently pursuing a Masters in Endodontics at Harvard.

To read the winning essay, click HERE. To read the first runner-up essay, click HERE.

This scholarship is open to all students who meet the following requisite criteria:

Enrolled in an accredited high school, college or university in the United States.
Students must either be in the final year of high school, enrolled as an undergraduate, or a graduate student in an U.S. accredited institution.
Considered in academic “good standing” at current institution – i.e. not on academic probation or suspension.
Minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (or equivalent).

For more information about the My Kool Smiles Scholarship Fund, please click HERE. See last year’s winner HERE.

Read other Benevis stories on Group Dentistry Now – HERE

Visit Benevis’ Premium listing on JoinDSO.com – Affiliations / Careers

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