By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
Underserved students at Red Bank Regional High School were given the opportunity to receive dental services from a local clinic.
For one day in February, Red Bank Smiles, 180 River Road, offered free dental services to the students and their families of the SOURCE, Red Bank High’s youth services program.
Red Bank Smiles is run by Benjamin Klayman.
According to a press release from the high school, the free dental services were established after a meeting between Klayman and Suzanne Keller, the director of the SOURCE. The meeting was set up through Diane Davis, who serves as both a hygienist at Red Bank Smiles and a member of the Red Bank Regional Board of Education.
“As a teenager, you may not realize that what you do now will have long term effects that can impact you the rest of your life,” said Klayman, who sought to provide aid to the Red Bank community.
“There is a constant need to find medical professionals able to provide services to our students and their families who can least afford them,” Keller said. “So when Diane Davis approached me with this offer, we were only too appreciative.”
Many students and their families came to the clinic for the free services, according to the press release.
“We treated over 30 patients including the RBR teenagers, their parents and younger siblings,” Davis said. “We taught them how to brush properly and floss, and gave them supplies to take home to continue their own oral care. It was an eye-opener for us to see just how great the need was.”
“The kids were very nervous,” clinic hygienist Heidi Whalen said. “For some, it was their first encounter with a dentist. Some of the girls had tears in their eyes, but it went very well.”
According to the press release, Red Bank Smiles hopes to make Red Bank High’s SOURCE Clinic an annual event in order to maintain the dental health of the families they treated.
“We are in the business of helping people,” Klayman said. “That is why I went into this profession and that is what we do here at Red Bank Smiles.”