The Smiles of Hope Dental Fund

Tonight, we invite you to meet a need that is often unseen — but deeply felt.

The children served at Hope have complex developmental and behavioral needs. For many of them, routine dental visits are not simple checkups. Due to sensory sensitivities, trauma histories, anxiety, or medical complexities, even basic cleanings require sedated dentistry in a specialized clinical setting.

Here’s the heartbreaking reality: While nearly all of our students rely on Medicaid, Medicaid does not cover the cost of sedation dentistry.

And when dental care is delayed or avoided, small cavities become infections. Pain becomes chronic. Eating becomes difficult. Behavior escalates. Learning suffers.

Dental pain doesn’t just hurt — it disrupts sleep, nutrition, emotional regulation, and overall health.

The Smiles of Hope Dental Fund exists to change that.

Your gift tonight will:

• Cover sedation costs for essential dental procedures

• Prevent emergency room visits due to untreated infections

• Restore comfort, health, and dignity

• Ensure our students can focus on learning and healing — not pain

For a child with autism or significant behavioral challenges, a healthy smile is more than cosmetic — it is stability, confidence, and relief.