KIND offers dental care to Front Range children
At 19, Krista Barnes found herself raising her 9- year- old brother while going to college and working full- time. Because their mother had suffered a long time from cancer before she died, a lot of things in their household had fallen by the wayside, including her brother’s dental care.
“He had terrible teeth,” Barnes said.
Her brother, Alexander Fiedler, never smiled, and he hated going to school because he was embarrassed about his teeth.
Desperate for help, Barnes flipped through the phone book and found Kids in Need of Dentistry.
“They pretty much redid his whole mouth for a nominal fee that I could afford and it really changed his life,” Barnes said. “I remember being this overwhelmed teenager and trying to care for a brother and I felt like these were the only people who were helpful to me and nice to me.”
Kids in Need of Dentistry, or KIND, has provided dental care to children since 1912, when a group of dentists founded it to help railroad worker and coal miner families. In 1998, KIND created the Chopper Topper program to provide free oral health screenings in elementary and middle schools across the Front Range.
This year, KIND was forced to get creative since COVID- 19 closed schools and students studied from home, Ellie Burbee, the executive director, said. The agency put together tooth care kits with toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and other gifts to encourage healthy living. It’s also creating video presentations for students to watch, developing teledentistry outreach and seeing children in its free and reducedprice clinics.
But as soon as KIND gets the all- clear sign to return to schools, its employees and volunteers will be ready, Burbee said.
“We’ve been told, ‘ We want you guys to come back. We understand how important it is to our kids’ health,’” she said. “Healthy kids are better learners.”
This year also brings another challenge as KIND must find a new location after losing its place in Commerce City. Barnes is serving on a committee to help with that and she’s volunteering with the agency’s annual fall fundraiser.
Back in the mid- 1990s when KIND helped her brother, Barnes, 46, always swore she would give back one day. Now, she works with KIND because of the care
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its volunteers showed Alexander, who died three years ago from colon cancer at 33.
“Your smile is kind of everything,” she said. “If you don’t feel comfortable with it, it can affect your speaking and your learning.”
“They pretty much redid his whole mouth for a nominal fee that I could afford and it really changed his life.” Krista Barnes, whose brother Alexander Fiedler was helped by Kids in Need of Denistry