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By the time *Maya was 16, tooth pain had become part of life.
At a local high school in Glenwood City, Wisconsin, Maya was visiting the nurse’s office nearly every day for ibuprofen or Tylenol. The pain made it hard to concentrate in class. She was missing school. At night, she couldn’t sleep.
For kids like Maya, ongoing dental pain can quietly affect nearly everything: the ability to learn, rest, eat comfortably, and simply focus on the future. And when a family cannot afford care, the problem can grow until pain becomes just another burden a child is expected to carry.
Maya had previously been enrolled in Bridging Brighter Smiles’ school-based dental program, which brings preventive care directly to students at school. But when the program returned the following year, Maya had not re-enrolled.
That could have been the end of the story.
Except Linda, the dental hygienist who had cared for Maya the previous year, noticed that her name was missing from the schedule. She remembered how much pain Maya had been experiencing and the urgent treatment concerns noted during her visit. She knew she had to speak up.
Her team contacted Maya’s family, who quickly re-enrolled her. Maya was seen that same day. Bridging Brighter Smiles worked with her family and school staff to help connect her with a dentist for an emergency extraction.
That kind of follow-through matters.
Nonprofit dental providers are often asked to do more than treat teeth. They build relationships with children and families. They notice when a child is missing. They coordinate with schools, help families navigate referrals, and keep working until a child in pain has a path forward.
Maya still needed continued care. Her dental team had found heavy calculus buildup, inflamed tissue, and several teeth that required additional attention. Because she was uninsured, even treatment that could help stop decay from progressing was difficult for her family to afford.
Through our In the Gap Program, Maya received funding for two preventive dental visits at her school over the following year. Those visits include screenings, cleanings, fluoride varnish, and sealants or silver diamine fluoride applications as needed, along with help connecting her family to additional care.
The In the Gap Program helps fill the financial space between a child’s dental needs and what a family can afford. For Maya, that support means continuing care instead of another lapse in treatment—and a better chance to stay free from pain.
Her story also reflects a much larger truth.
When children cannot access dental care, their oral health can suffer in ways that affect school attendance, concentration, confidence, and future opportunity. Over time, those setbacks can feed the cycle of poverty: untreated pain makes it harder to succeed in school; limited education can narrow future job options; and without stable income or dental coverage, the next generation may face the same barriers.
But a healthy smile can help change that path.
By making preventive care available where Maya already spends her day—at school—Bridging Brighter Smiles and America’s ToothFairy helped remove one more obstacle between her and the future she deserves.
Because Linda remembered Maya, a teenager in pain was not overlooked.
Because donors supported the In the Gap Program, Maya could keep receiving the preventive care that helps protect her smile, her health, and her future.
Maya’s In the Gap grant was generously funded by the Solventum Foundation. Your gift can help ensure more children like Maya are not forgotten. Give to In the Gap here.
About the Solventum Foundation
The Solventum Foundation is the charitable arm of Solventum, dedicated to improving lives and advancing access to care for those who need it most. We focus our efforts on three core pillars: supporting our employees in times of need, strengthening our communities and responding to global crises. The Foundation is a separate legal entity, guided by its own board of directors, that works in partnership with Solventum to create meaningful societal impact.
About Solventum
At Solventum, we enable better, smarter, safer healthcare to improve lives. As a new company with a long legacy of creating breakthrough solutions for our customers’ toughest challenges, we pioneer game-changing innovations at the intersection of health, material and data science that change patients' lives for the better — while empowering healthcare professionals to perform at their best. See how at Solventum.com
*The patient's name has been changed to protect their privacy.
