Smile America Partners

EXCITED to announce Steve Higginbotham and Smile America Partners as Entrepreneur of the Year!! Much more to come for the organization as it continues to serve underserved children across America with the dental care they need. Scott Kalniz

Congratulations Smita Malhotra, MD, FAAP, chief medical director of LAUSD! We're super excited to recognize you as the Smile America Partners 2024 CHILDREN'S HEALTH CHAMPION! Your visionary leadership with the Los Angeles Unified School District has had a profound impact on countless young lives by improving access to health care within the school environment to allow students to thrive. We can't wait to see what you'll do next! Steve Higginbotham

It's always a great day when we are able to bring smiles and good oral health where they are needed! Great work by the team of Dr. Debra Kennedy, Kathie Hulswitt, RDH, Nicole Dalian, DA + Donna Katou, dental team supervisor. CEO Steve Higginbotham was "schooled" in the latest shoe trends and other details of Kindergarten life. Happy smiles all around! #makingadifference

Let's take a moment to honor the unsung heroes of our schools - the dedicated school nurses! We're honored to partner with you in supporting your students' health and well-being. We're deeply grateful for everything you do. As we celebrate National School Nurse Day, we're reminded of the importance of access to quality dental care for all children. That's why our team is dedicated to bringing essential dental services directly to schools, ensuring that underserved children have the opportunity to receive the care they deserve. To all the incredible school nurses out there, thank you for your never-ending dedication and hard work. You are truly making a difference in the lives of children, and we're honored to work with you. #HappyNationalSchoolNurseDay!

Congratulations Steve Higginbotham - 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year® Michigan and Northwest Ohio Finalist!! Chosen for his ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. The program celebrates transformational CEOs who infuse innovation into an existing organization to catapult its trajectory. What does that mean for Smile America Partners, Smile Programs, Smile New York Outreach, Big Smiles and Help A Child Smile?? -- More underserved children get much needed dental care. Win-win.

Despite available Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) resources for oral health care, researchers have identified several barriers that exist for Medicaid beneficiaries attempting to access oral health services. Nationally, one major barrier cited to accessing oral health care was low dentist participation in Medicaid. Enrollment in Medicaid, however, did not ensure that dentists actually treated Medicaid beneficiaries, with many dentists enrolled in Medicaid but providing a minimum amount or no services to Medicaid beneficiaries. An in-school dental program can help bridge the gap, but we need to find ways to make Medicaid more economically viable for dentists so we can increase accessibility for this underserved population.

Our very own Steve Higginbotham has been named a Finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award!! The true winners, however, are the 320,000+ schoolchildren who receive dental care each year through the in-school dental program that has grown tremendously under Steve's leadership. Without this program, the vast majority of these children would not receive any dental care at all. Here's to all the innovators and entrepreneurs who are making our world a better place.

The role of a school principal has evolved significantly over time. Beyond traditional education, schools now play a crucial role in addressing health-related issues. We are proud to partner with innovative principals across the country who recognize the value of an in-school dental program to ensure students stay healthy and in school learning. Thank you, principals, for your dedication to the holistic well-being of our students! #HappySchoolPrincipalsDay

Bryan J. Carey and Benevis those are staggering and (quite frankly) heartbreaking statistics. This underscores the network adequacy and access issues plaguing state Medicaid agencies and managed care entities across the country. While there remains a lot of banter about oral health equity, until stakeholders and “experts” start addressing the administrative burden, archaic policies limiting cost effective innovative delivery models & treatment methods (think minimally invasive approaches), shift focus towards prevention and establish reasonable reimbursement methodology, these stats (and access challenges) will likely continue to get worse. Huge kudos to the entire Benevis team and its clinicians who are working to be part of the solution! Your work and impact on vulnerable populations inspires all of us at Smile America Partners.

This is just the kind of poignant story we hear all too often. Imagine, a young child earnestly saving the money left to him by the toothfairy to help buy a car. To lighten the load for underserved families, the mobile dental team provides care to children at school. No special transportation needed. We are honored to provide this peace of mind to parents.