This year will be the first time in nearly two decades that children visiting Eastern Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry the first Friday in February will not be greeted with Purple the Clown, PeeDee the Pirate and the ECU cheerleaders.

Give Kids A Smile day, which provides free dental care to children, will not be held during National Children’s Dental Health Month due to the coronavirus pandemic. But members of the East Central Dental Society hope the effort will come up smiling later this year.