BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish School System is working with Miles for Smiles Mobile Dental Care to bring dental services to local elementary schools during the 2026-27 school year.

The program was formally launched with a ribbon-cutting at Brownfields Elementary School on Thursday morning. 

The Miles for Smiles mobile dental unit acts as a dental office on wheels and allows students to receive dental services at their school, with services including cleanings, fillings, treatment for broken teeth and other routine dental care.

School officials said that students who need more complex surgical procedures will be referred to outside dentists.

Miles for Smiles will accept insurance, including Medicaid and other eligible plans. The program will also expand access for students who may not have dental coverage.

Miles for Smiles' services have been available to Caddo Parish Public Schools students in the Shreveport area for more than 10 years, officials said.

"Every child deserves access to quality dental care, regardless of the barriers their family may face. By bringing dental services directly to schools, we can make it easier for students to receive the care they need, stay healthy and remain focused on learning," Anneka Simms Alexander, executive director of Miles for Smiles, said in a statement. "Our goal is to remove barriers for families and help ensure that a lack of access to dental care does not prevent a child from being healthy and successful in school."

Twenty schools are included in the program's first phase: 

? Belfair Elementary
? Broadmoor Elementary
? Brownfields Elementary
? Capitol Elementary
? Claiborne Elementary
? Crestworth Elementary
? Forest Heights Elementary
? Glen Oaks Park Elementary
? Greenbrier Elementary
? LaBelle Aire Elementary
? Magnolia Woods Elementary
? McKinley Elementary
? Melrose Elementary
? Merrydale Elementary
? Park Forest Elementary
? Park Medical Academy
? Parkview Elementary
? Twin Oaks Elementary
? Villa del Rey Elementary
? Wildwood Elementary

The district and Smiles for Miles plan to expand the program to all district elementary schools.