Smiles for Keeps
An Urban Dentistry for Children and Teens

"We are a for-profit organization, but we believe you can have a mission within a for-profit organization too, and serve children well."                 
- Mary McSpadden
  Business Partner

Mountain Brook dentist Roger Smith and partner Mary McSpadden wanted to open a practice with a purpose.  In 2006, they opened Smiles for Keeps in downtown Woodlawn, providing dental care to the surrounding underserved communities.  The clinic's location bridges one of the greatest barriers to healthcare for the poor, a lack of transportation.

"In a large city like Birmingham, you would think there would be access to care for children on Medicaid.  But the truth is, there just wasn't," said McSpadden.  Citing state Medicaid statistics, McSpadden says of the 66,000 Medicaid-eligible children in Jefferson County, only a third saw a dentist last year.

The practice is seeing a growing number of those young patients many so neglected they require complicated procedures normally reserved for adults.

Main Street Birmingham, Inc. helped the owners of Smiles for Keeps engage the community.  Main Street staffers introduced them to church leaders and neighborhood activists who helped spread the word to a community that is often distrustful of the medical industry.  "That was one of the most comforting things to hear someone say," said McSpadden, "'You are not alone in this.'"