Colgate-Palmolive Co.—Colgate's Bright Smiles, Bright Futures
In the U.S. and around the world, millions of children don’t have access to basic dental care. Recognizing this troubling disparity 25 years ago, Colgate set out on an ambitious mission to address this problem and make sure all children have access to fundamental dental care, as well as the information necessary to develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
Since 1991, Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program has reached more than 800 million children across 80 countries with free dental screenings and oral health education. In the United States alone, Colgate’s educational materials reach nearly nine out of every 10 kindergarten students each year—that’s 3.5 million children in all 50 states. But education is only one facet of the program.
However, making good oral health achievable for all children takes more than just developing healthy habits. Kids need access to dentists to check in on their overall oral health. Realizing this important factor in maintaining a healthy smile, Colgate also rolls out its nine state-of-the-art mobile dental vans across the U.S. every year.
These vans see two children at a time and feature friendly visuals to help create a fun and less intimidating dental screening experience for kids in rural and urban communities across the country. Colgate’s volunteer dental professionals—many of whom participate thanks to partnerships with the National Dental Association, the Hispanic Dental Association and the American Dental Association—administer visual examines free of charge to children ages three through 12.