CLASS, SAY `AHH'; DENTISTS GIVE FREE CHECKUPS TO SANTA CLARITA SCHOOL KIDS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

``Do you brush your teeth every morning and every night?'' dentist Al Mindel asked over and over Wednesday, as 95 Newhall Elementary students took turns displaying their gap-toothed smiles for him.

Pulling on a fresh pair of latex gloves and grabbing a wooden tongue depressor for every examination, Mindel told each boy and girl to open wide as he shined a flashlight in their mouths. Next came the friendly admonishments to ``get rid of those sugar bugs'' that would cause the kids to suffer tooth decay and gum disease.

Mindel was donating his time to provide free dental screenings that were organized by the Foundation for Children's Dental Health, a Santa Clarita organization that receives federal grant funds.

``I brush my teeth only in the morning,'' Lesley Payne, 7, admitted after Mindel had poked around in her mouth. The second-grader didn't really know why she usually skips the oral hygiene routine between dinner and bedtime. ``I forget,'' Lesley said.

The dentist had high praise for Daniel Garcia, 11. ``Gorgeous teeth - keep up the good work,'' Mindel told the sixth-grader. ``You get the good teeth award for the day.''

Since the foundation was established in 1993, the dentists it supplies to local schools have provided $350,000 in free dental services to Santa Clarita Valley children, said Maricela Sholes, executive director of the foundation.

This week alone, assorted dentists have made pro bono visits to Castaic Elementary, Live Oak Elementary, Castaic Middle School, Old Orchard Elementary and Wiley Canyon Elementary, Sholes said. Today's itinerary calls for dental screenings at Peachland Elementary.

Often, children's oral hygiene is bad because adults are under some mistaken impressions. ``A lot of the parents feel that, with the primary teeth, they're going to fall out anyway, so (kids) don't have to take care of them,'' Sholes said. ``It's not negligence; it's really ignorance.''

``Some of these kids have never been to a dentist,'' Sholes added. ``There was a little girl who doesn't even brush. She has gum disease; we provided her with a toothbrush and toothpaste.''

Another boy they saw in one of the Castaic schools had permanent molars that had nearly rotted away.

The foundation selects children for the free screenings based on the recommendations from individual public schools, the school district nurse and consent forms that parents have filled out, Sholes said.

If the dentist providing the screening recommends that the child receive some follow-up care for a particular problem, the foundation also arranges for that treatment - ranging from X-rays, fillings, cleanings, extractions and root canals - to be performed at no cost, Sholes noted.

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4 Photos

PHOTO (1-3--Color) A few missing teeth don't discourage Juanito Medina's smile, top. Above, Dr. Al Mindel takes a look at a youngster's mouth Wednesday during a visit to Newhall Elementary School. Below, children watch as they wait their turn for a free checkup.

(4) Nancy Arana, 7, left, plays with friends waiting to see the dentist.

David R. Crane/Daily News