To: Petition to Mayor Bloomberg and members of the City Council of The City Of New York Mission: Keep the FREE PUBLIC DENTAL NYC ORAL HEALTH PROGRAM for children citywide from proposed elimination after budget cuts in April 2009. We the parents of a million children who attend NYC Public Schools, demand that the Oral Health Program be maintained rather than eliminated as has been proposed. This 95 year old program is the oldest municipal health program in the nation, starting back in 1913.Our children are in need of dental care, and there is now a State mandate that our children prove they were examined by a dentist. It was said that children can be seen elsewhere, but City hospitals have a three month waiting list to be seen. Only a small percentage of private dentists take Medicaid, and not all of us have Medicaid or insurance. Therefore, the State mandate for children to have dental exams cannot be met if you cut out this service.Our children are our future. Do not sacrifice our future.