Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative is teaming up with the Petal School District to make sure every student has the opportunity for dental checkups.
SeMRHI officials spent the first three days of this week – including a stop Monday at Petal High School – conducting free dental screenings for students, checking for cavities and other dental issues.
“We don’t go to the dentist like we used to when we were a small child, and that’s the same with our teenagers,” high school principal Rob Knight said. “(The screenings) have been beneficial for us and our students, for that care that those kids may not otherwise be getting.
“So we think it’s a good service for our students.”
The services are provided to all students whose parents filled out a consent form for the procedure. If any issues are found during the screenings, parents are notified and can then bring their child to a dentist of their choosing.
“The children need us,” said DeWanna Varnado, DMD, who was helping to conduct the screenings on behalf of SeMRHI. “Some of these kids don’t ever get to see a dentist.”
Knight said for the most part, the students seem to have taken advantage of the screenings.
“Some of them are a little surprised, but they’ll go through it,” he said. “And they can always decline if they want.”
