PRESS RELEASE

PHC Hosts Annual Back-to-School Dental Exam Day
Record Number of Children Participate in Program

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 2, 2003-PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY- The Plainfield Health Center (PHC), one of seventeen Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey, dedicated to providing cost effective primary health care services for the residents of Plainfield and surrounding communities, hosted it’s annual pediatric dental exam day in an effort to encourage annual check-ups for children as part of the back-to-school health care regimen. The exams included full mouth check-ups, xrays, cleanings, and fluoride treatments. Almost 100 children participated.

Oral health care is an essential component of total health care. It includes prevention or elimination of many diseases and conditions that occur in the mouth, such as dental caries and gum diseases. Regular dental visits provide an opportunity for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, as well as oral hygiene education. The earlier in life that annual check-ups become routine, the higher the likelihood for continuous, good oral hygiene throughout life, and prevention of disease.

The Plainfield Health Center is proud of the dental program that has been in place for over a decade. PHC’s program has always considered oral care a key component of overall health care, and a key indicator of a person’s health status. Today, there is a focus on oral care at much younger ages. “Plainfield Health Center holds two pediatric dental days each year, “Give a Kid a Smile Day” in the spring, and the annual back-to-school dental exam day, in an effort to get children and their parents into a good pattern of oral care in early childhood,” said Dr. Margaret Murray-Sobers, Chief of PHC’s dental department. “The dental staff was delighted to see so many children, as young as a year old, getting into an early check-up routine. We are very encouraged that some school and pre-school programs are beginning to require a dental check-up as part of the school physical,” said Dr. Sobers.

To learn more about the Plainfield Health Center’s dental program, or to schedule an appointment, call 908.753.6401, extension 155.

About The Plainfield Health Center

The Plainfield Health Center, incorporated as the Plainfield Neighborhood Health Services Corporation, was born in 1969 under the auspices of the 1960's Model Cities Neighborhood Program. Led by a dedicated group of community activists, the Center was initially created to provide accessible health care to the residents of the West End of Plainfield.

Since then, the Center has grown, added more services, increased the number of specialties of professional health staff, and expanded its reach to the entire City of Plainfield and neighboring communities, and to the City of Elizabeth. Today, the Plainfield Health Center serves more than 20,000 patients annually. Its total care program provides adult medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, adolescent medicine, school based services, dentistry and ancillary support services.

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