The Giving A Smile Foundation is bringing its Smile Under the Stars Charity Gala back to The Beverly Hilton on Thursday, November 12, with actor Kelsey Grammer returning as master of ceremonies. The second annual event will also honor philanthropists Robert and Linell Shapiro and feature a performance by the rock band The Calling, with proceeds aimed at building a permanent, no-cost dental clinic for underserved children and young adults across Los Angeles.
According to Hollywood Times, the evening will open with red-carpet arrivals and a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the gala program at 7 p.m. The outlet reports that proceeds will support the foundation's mission to establish a permanent, no-cost dental clinic for underserved children and young adults throughout Los Angeles, and that the organization also plans to expand access through two fully equipped mobile dental units. A related release distributed through The Des Moines Register describes the gala as presented by Rifkin Raanan Dentistry, with proceeds set to fund advanced dental treatments, preventive education, and expanded oral-health resources for vulnerable young people in the city.
That release also notes that Justin Raanan said the foundation is raising funds to launch two fully equipped mobile dental units providing free care in underserved communities, echoing the same expansion plan described by the Hollywood outlet. The Calling, described in the release as a multi-platinum Los Angeles trio that has sold over 10 million albums and accumulated billions of streams, is set to headline. The band's hit Wherever You Will Go reportedly reached the Billboard Hot 100 top five and was later named Billboard's No. 1 adult pop song of the decade, and the trio released its third album, Before the World Turns to Dust, featuring the single Dust, in 2026.
Honoring the Shapiros and a Foundation Born From Loss
This year's gala will honor Robert and Linell Shapiro, according to the same Hollywood Times report. The Des Moines Register release adds further context: the Shapiros established the Brent Shapiro Foundation for Drug Prevention in 2005 after the loss of their son, Brent, and the release states that Brent's Club has empowered thousands of young people to make healthy choices. The release also describes Giving A Smile Foundation as celebrating a new partnership with the Shapiros tied to this year's event.
Giving A Smile Foundation describes itself, per EIN Presswire, as a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free, high-quality dental care and oral health education to underserved youth. The organization connects patients ages 5 to 24 to its clinic through partnerships with community organizations, the wire service reported, and said a clinic held on September 26 provided free dental care to 23 children and young adults. The foundation's own website states that its clinics provide children and young adults with comprehensive dental services at no cost.
Conflicting Figures on the Foundation's Reach
How many young people the foundation has actually served is described differently across sources. EIN Presswire reported that, as of early October, the foundation said it had provided care and support to more than 3,000 children and young adults to date. LA2050, meanwhile, describes the organization as having treated more than 3,500 young people since 2017. A separate account in the Beverly Hills Courier quoted Dr. Rodney Raanan saying the foundation had already helped over 4,000 people across Los Angeles. The dossier does not reconcile these figures, so each is presented here as reported by its respective source.
This is not the foundation's first turn in the Beverly Hilton ballroom. The inaugural Smile Under the Stars gala was held there on December 11, 2025, also hosted by Kelsey Grammer, with a performance that year by Grammy-winning singer Robin Thicke, the Beverly Hills Courier reported. At that first gala, Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian was presented with the Humanitarian Leadership Award, according to the same outlet. The foundation followed that event with a Free Youth Dental Clinic held in Beverly Hills on October 24, 2026, EIN Presswire noted.
Why Access to Dental Care Remains a Struggle
The push for a permanent clinic and mobile units reflects broader gaps in oral-health access described by researchers who study the region. A UCLA chartbook on Los Angeles County residents covers topics including tooth decay in children and tooth loss in adults, drawing on California Health Interview Survey data collected from 2007 to 2023. The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, which examined Los Angeles alongside four other California counties for a larger project, has found that communities have long reported barriers to accessing oral health services in the state, including cultural and linguistic challenges, inconsistent care options, and a lack of quality services.
LA2050's page on the foundation frames the stakes in starker terms, noting that tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in U.S. children, with more than 34 million school hours lost each year as a result. That context underscores what organizers say is driving this year's gala: funding a clinic and mobile units intended to reach young people who might otherwise go without care.
