Last week, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Sealants for Smiles Gala in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Ultradent is a sponsor of the program.  What a wonderful event - and, more importantly, what a wonderful cause!   Sealants for Smiles program which is a charitable organization that providing school-based oral health education and dental sealants to underserved children.  This year, the program served 61 low-income elementary schools in Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele, and Summit counties placing 16,000 sealants. 

The results? After an evaluation one year after the procedure, 97% of the teeth remained decay free.   It truly hit home hearing the words of Mr. Fred Ball the evening of the gala.  I wanted to share a portion with you here:

“A smile costs nothing, but gives much.  It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.  It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is to poor but that he can be made rich by it.  A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship.  It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature’s best antidote for trouble.  Yet, it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.  Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give.”

-Anonymous Author

For those of us who are blessed with comfort and pleasure, our smiles and our teeth are frequently taken for granted. Just brushing and caring for our teeth may seem to be a simple, routine process we all just “do.” But, do you realize the importance of a simple smile on our success and happiness?

A smile is inviting, calming, reassuring and positive. Those of you who are in business or are entrepreneurs work diligently toward your goals, looking for opportunities and taking risk to succeed. If you are confident and positive, your smiles will come easy and may even encourage your contacts to take a chance on you. If you have taken care of your teeth and brushing daily, you are more likely to smile and feel good about yourself. Of course, your success can’t be directly correlated to a smile, but the positive attitude that comes along with a healthy, genuine smile just might play a bigger role than you ever imagined.

Think then about a child who because of lack of tooth care won’t or can’t smile. Doesn’t it also make sense that the positive and confident attribute will be markedly absent from his or her appearance, demeanor and attitude? Will not success and happiness come slower or harder because of the lack of that pleasant, happy countenance?

I personally was not aware of the immensity of the underserved population for children right here in Utah. There are hundreds of beautiful, sweet, young people in our communities who simply never smile. Why? Because they are ashamed of their teeth and mouth. Their confidence suffers. Their school work and attendance suffers. Yes!! There is a need HERE for action. Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. We have willing professionals to attend to the work needed. There certainly is a needy population of our neighbors and friends who need the work but because of circumstances can’t provide the resources to accomplish the work.

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of man, but from doing something worthwhile. Being generous with Sealants for Smiles is worthwhile. You can attain real joy and satisfaction in knowing that you have put a great big smile on the face of a beautiful child.

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.