Market Place Shopping Center was full of kids with newly clean smiles Saturday afternoon.

Give Kids A Smile, an annual event held by the Illinois District Dental Society, provided free dental care and information to children between the ages of 1 and 17.

The event had various booths with activities and information for children and adults, including: face painting, a coloring contest and nutrition counseling.

“Tooth decay and dental infections are the No. 1 reason that children miss school, so our goal is to make sure that all our kids are able to attend,” said Dr. Kirk Noraian, secretary for the dental society and event chair.

Last year, volunteer dentists gave exams to 300 kids. This year, they had supplies to take care of 500 children, he said.

“We think that oral health is important for everyone, and we just want to make sure that our children are taken care of,” Noraian said.

Give Kids A Smile also provided services that meet the state requirements for dental exams for kindergarten, second and sixth graders.

Noraian said children were able to get a fluoride treatment.

“If it’s determined they need other services, we have other organizations that will help us get children access to care,” Noraian said.

Jaclyn Taylor, sophomore in LAS, is part of the Pre-Dental Club at the University and was volunteering at the event.

“All the booths are making it fun for the kids, so it’s not as scary,” Taylor said.

Her booth had a thumb-cast activity to make things fun for children. Getting a thumb-cast resembles getting a dental cast, she said.

For Champaign resident Sally Kim, this was her second time at the event for her and her daughter.

Her daughter is usually a little afraid of the dentist, Sally said. “But with this atmosphere, I think she’s a little bit more relaxed.”

Yoolim Kim, periodontist at the Dr. Steven W. Seibert, DMD, dental practice in Champaign, was performing exams at the event. She said she has been volunteering at the event since she was in dental school.

“There are a lot of kids who can not afford to go to the dentist, so at least they can actually have a school exam and have the minimal observation so we can direct them to the right place,” Yoolim said.

She said she hopes in the future the dental society will be able to provide even more services at the event.