Dentists donate money from teeth whitening

For the second consecutive year, Bloomington dentist Luke Eades will donate half of the proceeds raised for the Smiles for Life Foundation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of south central Indiana.\nThe foundation holds an annual fundraiserto benefit children’s charities that includes more than 1,200 dentists worldwide from March 1 to June 30.\nThe Smiles for Life Foundation ensures that all of the proceeds go to children’s charities, said Smiles for Life accountant Kristin Anderson. The foundation allows dentists to donate half of all funds to their chosen local children’s charity.\n“I think (Big Brothers Big Sisters) provide a necessary support system for children that don’t have a mother or father in their lives to provide them with a responsible role model in their lives to help them grow and be better people,” Eades said. “I think it’s wonderful.”\nWhitening now costs $200, a price that was lowered in 2007 to encourage more participation in the Smiles for Life program by dentists.\n“Last year the bleaching fee was $315,” Eades. “This year we thought we’d lower it and make it more affordable to people so that we could get more participation that way. You don’t have to give just $200.”\nHe said he is able to offer the teeth-whitening products because Discus Dental International, a company that distributes dental supplies, provides them for free to him and other participating dentists. \nSmiles for Life Foundation works through an organization of dentists called Crown Council, Anderson said. The council is a network for dentists worldwide.\n“The national charity supports organizations like Riley Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Hospital and Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids Foundation,” Eades said.\nIn 2006, $2,150 was donated to the south central Indiana Big Brothers Big Sisters from the Smiles for Life Foundation, which allowed 927 children to be matched with a big brother or sister, said Andrea Smith, director of operations for Big Brothers Big Sisters.\nThe money from the Smiles for Life Foundation is used by Big Brothers Big Sisters to find more volunteers. The group is responsible for screening, recruiting and training them, she said. \n“All the money goes to support our mentoring program,” Smith said. “Our local office serves kids in both Monroe and Owen counties to match them one on one with local mentors.”\nEades’ goal for this year is simply to raise more money than last year. He estimated that $1,500 has been raised since March 1.\n“It’d be great if we could do at least $10,000 so that we can get $5,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters,” he said.