Page 15 - Bulletin Vol 29 No 2 - May. - Aug. 2024 FINAL

Making A Difference
In Our Society |

NCDS Pediatric Dentists Bring Smiles Back to a Sick Young Patient.

Sydney Maitland was 10 years old when she received a bone marrow transplant to treat sickle cell anemia.

Weeks later, a rash spread across her face, hurting so much she could barely open her mouth.
Sydney’s mom, Amanta Adonis, brought Sydney to Cohen Children’s Medical Center to see the doctors
who have cared for her since infancy. While there, she received a dental checkup as part of a collaboration
between the pediatric dentistry and hematology/oncology departments. The dental team evaluated
Sydney to determine the cause of her pain.
NCDS member, Pediatric Dental Medicine Chief Sheeba Kurian, DDS, BDS, along with a Northwell pediatric
oral pathologist, recognized the early symptoms of graft vs. host disease, where the transplanted bone
marrow cells begin to attack the body. The disease can be very debilitating if not diagnosed early. The
pediatric dental team immediately alerted the hematology/oncology department and then fitted Sydney
with an oral device that would counter the effects of the diseases by slowly stretching the skin around her
mouth.
At Cohen Children’s, an estimated 1 in 4 cancer patients have dental problems which need to be addressed
before they begin treatment. “Once chemo starts, the body defenses come down,” says Dr. Kurian. “They
can’t fight infection like a healthy child can.”
For the past nine years, thanks to the generosity of Henry Schein, Inc., the world’s largest provider of
health care solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners, the oral health navigator program at
Northwell has made it possible to provide regular dental checkups for more than 800 pediatric hematolo-
gy/oncology patients. These patients include children with cancer and blood disorders such as sickle cell
anemia.
“Through the oral health navigator program, Henry Schein has helped many kids get dental needs taken
care of that otherwise would never have been done,” says Joseph Brofsky, DMD, section head for pediatric
dentistry and the program’s founder. “It has saved so many kids, like Sydney, from suffering,” Dr. Brofsky,
a Past President of NCDS, along with current NCDS President Dr. Doug Schildhaus and NCDS Past President
Dr. Michael Shreck are Co-Chairs of NCDS’s Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) program. GKAS is a national program
of the American Dental Association Foundation. GKAS provides free dental screenings to underserved
children. Henry Schein has served as the program’s exclusive professional products sponsor since its
inception in 2003. The Nassau County Dental Society GKAS event is one of the largest in the country,
where approximately 350 volunteers, including many dental residents from Northwell Health, see as many
as 1700 children in a day. The children receive free dental screenings, oral hygiene instructions, nutritional
counseling, sealants, and fluoride treatments. The children leave with a backpack filled with oral hygiene
items and instructions, a dental coloring book with crayons, and a toy. In addition, members of the Lions
Club of Long Beach provide free eye screenings for the children. NCDS rents the Cradle of Aviation
Museum in Garden City for this wonderful program.
Sydney visits the pediatric dental team monthly where the progress of
her custom spacing device is evaluated. The success of her treatment has
allowed the 12-year-old to go back to school, where she enjoys social
studies and language arts and dreams of becoming a criminal justice
lawyer. Sydney’s mom is grateful for the care her daughter has received
at Cohen Children’s Hospital, adding that “The dentists there are amazing
and came up with a lot of different ways to help her so she can grow up
and achieve her dreams.”
Standing: Dr. Schultz, Allison Neale, Drs. Kurian
& Brofsky. Seated: Sydney Maitland & her
mom, Amanta Adonis Nassau County Dental Society ⬧ (516) 227-1112 | 15