Little Lights Dentistry

Little Lights Dentistry We deliver free, quality dental care to uninsured, low-income children in Florida from their first birthday to high school graduation. Donate here!

We ensure that every child can smile with confidence. Little Lights Dentistry
https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/make-a-donation

A quick note before the long weekend: Little Lights Dentistry will be closed on Monday, September 7 in observance of Lab...
09/04/2026

A quick note before the long weekend: Little Lights Dentistry will be closed on Monday, September 7 in observance of Labor Day. 💙

Somewhere on the Treasure Coast this weekend, a mom who has worked six days straight will finally sleep past her alarm. A dad will clock out of his second job on Sunday night knowing Monday belongs to his kids. A grandmother raising her grandbabies will get one slow morning. That is who Labor Day is for. It is who Little Lights is for, too. The families in our chairs work some of the hardest jobs in our community, jobs that rarely come with dental insurance, and they still show up for every single checkup. This weekend, we hope the showing up stops and the resting starts.

We reopen Tuesday, September 8. If you call over the weekend, leave a message at 772-223-9781 and we will call you back Tuesday morning. And if your child needs a dental home, we would love to meet you.

If Little Lights has ever taken care of your child, this one is for you.That care was free to your family. It was not fr...
09/03/2026

If Little Lights has ever taken care of your child, this one is for you.

That care was free to your family. It was not free to provide. Part of what makes it possible is local property tax revenue, the same funding that supports children's health services across our community.

Amendment 3 would reduce that revenue by exempting a large share of homestead value from non-school property taxes. If it passes, organizations like ours face harder math: fewer families served, longer waits for an appointment, fewer chairs filled on a Tuesday morning.

Now the important part. Nothing changes today. Our doors are open, our schedule is open, and if your child has an appointment this week, keep it. We will be here.

But there is something every Little Lights family should know. You are not only a patient family. You are a voter, and this is on your ballot. The same community that decided this clinic should exist gets to decide again on November 3.

So talk to your neighbors. Talk to the parents in your child's class. And when you vote, vote NO on Amendment 3. 💙



Posted Independently by Little Lights Dentistry using private resources.

A little pink on the toothbrush? Most parents assume they've brushed too hard. Usually it's the opposite.September is Na...
09/02/2026

A little pink on the toothbrush? Most parents assume they've brushed too hard. Usually it's the opposite.

September is National Gum Care Month, and here's the thing the toothpaste aisle doesn't explain: when a child's gums bleed during brushing, it's typically because plaque has been sitting along the gumline. The brush finally reached it. The natural instinct is to skip that spot next time, and that's how a small problem quietly gets bigger.

The good news: in kids, early gum trouble almost always reverses. Brush right where the teeth meet the gums, gently, twice a day. Floss once a day anywhere two teeth touch. Give it a week or two. If the bleeding doesn't stop, or the gums look puffy or dark red, that's a checkup.

If cost is what's kept that checkup waiting, we are here. 💙 Little Lights provides free dental care for uninsured, income-eligible children from their first birthday through high school graduation. See if your child qualifies: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/get-care/does-my-child-qualify?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=gum-care-month

You don't have to play golf to be part of Clubs for Kids. You just have to come to dinner. 💙Our annual Clubs for Kids Go...
09/01/2026

You don't have to play golf to be part of Clubs for Kids. You just have to come to dinner. 💙

Our annual Clubs for Kids Golf Tournament is Monday, October 26 at The Yacht & Country Club in Stuart, and the golf side is already full. Thank you to every foursome who grabbed a spot. (Golfers, a waitlist is open at the link below.)

The dinner side is where we still need you. Dinner and an open bar begin at 5 PM, with a raffle, a silent auction, and a live auction to close out the night. Come as a couple, bring a whole table, or come on your own. You'll know people by dessert.

Every dollar raised goes to free dental care for children in families without insurance. This is our tenth year of doing exactly that, and nights like this one are a big part of how the word "free" stays in front of "dental care."

Dinner tickets and the golf waitlist: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/donate/special-events?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=clubs-for-kids-2026

Meet the leadership behind the smiles. 💙Carol Lauer spent her career as a marketing executive, building brands and growt...
08/28/2026

Meet the leadership behind the smiles. 💙

Carol Lauer spent her career as a marketing executive, building brands and growth strategies. Retired now, she coaches young golfers as a volunteer and serves on our board, where she helps guide the strategy that keeps every exam, cleaning, and filling at Little Lights free for uninsured, income-eligible Treasure Coast kids.

Ask Carol why she serves, and the answer is simple: compassionate dental care can change a child's day, and their direction.

Thank you, Carol, for leading with the conviction that no child should go to bed with a toothache. ✨

Read Carol's story: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/board/carol-lauer?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=board-spotlight

We didn't set out to build a women-led clinic. We set out to build a dental home for kids who didn't have one. Ten years...
08/26/2026

We didn't set out to build a women-led clinic. We set out to build a dental home for kids who didn't have one. Ten years in, from the front desk to the dental chair to the director's office, women are the ones doing that work. 💙

Happy Women's Equality Day from the women of Little Lights.

It started with a nurse. In 1999, Theresa Banks, R.N., founded Light of the World Charities to send surgical and dental missions overseas. When those missions had to close in 2015, the board looked closer to home and found uninsured kids in Martin County growing up without a dentist. In 2016, Theresa led the launch of Little Lights.

Here are the women who carry that work today:

Nicole King, our Executive Director, who has had Treasure Coast kids in her corner for more than 20 years.

Dr. Macdalie St-Preux, our Dental Director, who sets the standard for every filling and every nervous first visit.

Anna Panchenko, our Finance Director, and Lori Sang, our Director of Philanthropy, who keep the care free.

Rosanna Walker and Maria Abad, our hygienists, who do the cleanings and teach the brushing.

Ivett Gomez, Stella Mongelos, and Yahaira Perez, our dental assistants and patient coordinators, who are chairside for the fillings and on the phone with the families.

Today marks the day in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was certified and women's right to vote was written into the Constitution. We're celebrating it the best way we know how: by saying thank you to the women who built this organization and the women who keep it running.

If one of them has ever made your child's visit a little easier, tell her in the comments. 💙

Meet the team: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/about/staff?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=womens-equality-day

Little Lights provides free dental care for uninsured, income-eligible children from their first birthday through high school graduation.

Cleats, check. Shin guards, check. Water bottle, check. Mouthguard? 🏈Fall sports are officially here in Martin and St. L...
08/25/2026

Cleats, check. Shin guards, check. Water bottle, check. Mouthguard? 🏈

Fall sports are officially here in Martin and St. Lucie Counties. Football is back under the Friday night lights, soccer practices are starting up, and the sidelines are about to fill with folding chairs.

Here is the thing most equipment lists skip. Roughly one in three dental injuries in kids happens during sports, and most of them involve the top front teeth. The ones in every school picture. A knocked-out or broken front tooth is not a quick fix, either. It can mean years of follow-up care for a child, and a cost most families never planned for.

The good news: it is one of the most preventable injuries in youth sports. Athletes who wear a mouthguard are far less likely to get hurt. And that goes for soccer, basketball, baseball, cheer, skateboards, and bikes, not just football.

Tap through for what every sports parent should know: how to choose a guard your child will actually keep in, how to take care of it, and exactly what to do if a tooth gets knocked out. Save that last one. You do not want to be googling it on the sideline.

Coaches and team parents, this one is made for sharing.

And if cost is what has kept a checkup off the schedule this fall, we are here. Little Lights provides free dental care for uninsured, income-eligible children from their first birthday through high school graduation. Call 772-223-9781 to schedule, or see if your child qualifies: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/get-care/does-my-child-qualify?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fall-sports-mouthguard

Somewhere in your house there is a tiny tooth in a plastic bag, a tissue, or a jar. Every parent knows exactly where. 🦷H...
08/22/2026

Somewhere in your house there is a tiny tooth in a plastic bag, a tissue, or a jar. Every parent knows exactly where. 🦷

Happy National Tooth Fairy Day! And congratulations to the kids, because business is good. Delta Dental's annual poll puts the going rate at nearly $6 a tooth this year, up 17% from last year. A first tooth pulls even more, just over $7 on average.

We love her. She takes a milestone that could be scary and turns it into winning something.

But here's the honest job description: the Tooth Fairy shows up after the tooth is already gone. She can't spot a cavity forming, she can't fill one, and she has never once fit a family in on a Tuesday afternoon.

That part is ours. And for a lot of families here on the Treasure Coast, that part is the one that costs money they don't have. A single filling can run into the hundreds. Add a second child and it becomes a decision no parent should have to make.

So here is what we want every family in our community to know: Little Lights provides free dental care for uninsured, income-eligible children from their first birthday through high school graduation. Not reduced cost. Free.

Call 772-223-9781 to schedule, or see if your child qualifies: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/get-care/does-my-child-qualify?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tooth-fairy-day

Let the Tooth Fairy handle the cash. We've got the teeth. 🧚

Ask a room full of parents about their child's first dental visit, and you will hear the same worries every time. He wil...
08/20/2026

Ask a room full of parents about their child's first dental visit, and you will hear the same worries every time. He will cry. She will not sit still. They are going to think I have been doing this all wrong.

So here is what actually happens. For the littlest patients, the exam happens right in your lap, knee-to-knee with our dentist. We count teeth, check gums, and talk with you about brushing, bottles, snacks, and what to watch for. Many first visits take a few minutes. Nobody gets a lecture.

Tap through for Part 2 of our Myth vs. Fact series: five things parents get wrong about first dental visits.

And yes, some children cry. That is normal, and it does not mean the visit failed. We'd rather avoid a first visit that happens only because something already hurts.

Little Lights provides free dental care for uninsured, income-eligible children from their first birthday through high school graduation. Call 772-223-9781 to schedule, or see if your child qualifies: https://www.littlelightsdentistry.org/get-care/does-my-child-qualify?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=myth-vs-fact-first-visit

There is a line on your property tax bill that most people never read. In Martin and St. Lucie County, that line helps p...
08/17/2026

There is a line on your property tax bill that most people never read. In Martin and St. Lucie County, that line helps pay for a child's dental care.

Local property taxes are what put free dental care within reach for families who could not otherwise afford it. Not as a concept. As a cleaning. As a filling. As a night a kid actually sleeps because the tooth stopped hurting, and a Monday she is in class instead of at home with a swollen face.

Here is the part worth understanding. Amendment 3 works by exempting a large share of homestead value from non-school property taxes. Local children's health services are funded from exactly that category. It is not a side effect. It is the mechanism. State economists project up to roughly $12 billion a year in reduced local revenue once the change is fully phased in.

We are not asking you to love your tax bill. Nobody loves their tax bill. We are asking you to know what it buys, because that is a different question than what it costs.

When you vote on November 3, please remember that "lower taxes" is not free. Some of that cost gets paid by a seven year old who has no way to pay it.

Vote NO on Amendment 3. 💙

Address

1300 East 10th Street, Suite B
Stuart, FL
34996

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+17722239781

Website

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