Smiles of Arkansas now accepting adult patients

Smiles of Arkansas, Texarkana office, has begun accepting adult patients, according to James Jackson, public relations representative for Smiles of Arkansas.

“We opened up the Texarkana practice to adults just this year,” Jackson said.

“Our practice has grown since Dr. Robert A. Carter opened the first Smiles clinic in Hope, Ark., in 2008,” he said. “At first, Smiles specialized in the dental needs of children.”

According to Jackson, Carter operated a private practice in Hope when he was approached by local schools to perform visual dental inspections of students. In the process, he noticed kids with lots of cavity issues as well as other dental needs. From that, the first Smiles of Arkansas in Hope was established, to help meet the dental needs of local kids.

“Eventually, that led to the opening of practices in other Arkansas towns, including De Queen, Magnolia and in 20011, Texarkana, Ark.,” Jackson said.

“We’ve grown in our practice, now seeing families of those first kids as well as continuing to see those children,” he added.

Among the programs Smiles has established to encourage good dental health is the CavityFree Club.

“New patience as well as youngsters coming in for their six-month checkup are eligible,” Jackson said. “If they come in at those points and have no cavities, they get in a raffle for a personally tailored prize. Also, to award those kids who may have met the requirements but missed the big prize, we have raffles and drawings for them, too.”

“A recent winner at Smiles of Texarkana is Regina Ferguson, a special-needs patient,” Jackson said. “She also happens to be a big Garth Brooks fan. She won the Cavity-Free Club challenge, so we are sending her to the Garth Brooks show in Shreveport, La., at the end of July.”

Smiles of Texarkana is located at 1621 Arkansas Blvd, Texarkana, Ark. Their phone number is 870-774-7645.