ACS Sponsors Dental Outreach Initiative in Tupelo, Miss.

DALLAS (Map) - DALLAS, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of its nationwide Dental Outreach Initiative, Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) will sponsor free dental education and screening for children in Tupelo, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 16. The event will be held at Lawhon Elementary School, 140 Lake Street in Tupelo, starting at 9:00 a.m.

The program, conducted in partnership with the Mississippi Dental Society, provides free dental education and screenings to underserved children throughout the state. ACS launched the initiative in November 2006 with a goal of educating and screening 3,000 children in Mississippi. Previous state screenings were held in Meridian and Gulfport. The Dental Outreach Initiative serves children in five states and the District of Columbia.

"As corporate residents of Mississippi, we are concerned about the health and well-being of our neediest children," said Doug Tomlin, ACS executive account manager, Mississippi Medicaid Project. "Together with our partners, we hope to teach these children that practicing good dental hygiene will have a profound impact on their health for years to come."

The ACS Dental Initiative provides free dental screenings and education seminars on dental hygiene by licensed professionals. To reinforce what they learn during the seminars, students receive a gift bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, t-shirts, and dental education material. In addition, children receive a screening evaluation and a recommendation report to share with their parents or guardian.

For many children, the ACS Dental Initiative screening will be their first dental check-up. In fact, the American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that children from low-income families are less likely to see a dentist regularly, and suffer twice as many dental cavities as their peers. In addition, pain and suffering due to untreated disease lead to problems in eating, speaking and paying attention in school. The ADA and the AAP also note that 51 million school hours are lost each year as a result of dental-related problems.

Since the ACS Dental Outreach Initiative was launched in Georgia in 2004, more than 17,000 children have received dental education. Along with Georgia and Mississippi, the initiative benefits children in Florida, Maryland, Texas, and the District of Columbia.

"The ACS Dental Outreach Initiative is our way of reaching into communities throughout the state to help Mississippi children have not only healthy smiles, but healthy futures as well," said Tomlin.

ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with 62,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." ACS makes technology work. Visit ACS on the Internet at http://www.acs-inc.com.