Success Stories
On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update
by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update #10 | 11/10/08 | Estacada
Each week on the Tooth Taxi brings a new adventure. Last week in Estacada we set a record for the number of volunteers, 7. During that week we also experienced a first. Some parents grateful for our services asked the school coordinator about donation envelopes, which we were happy to provide.
A mother, whose daughter we treated, asked Dr. Heringer if she could give him a hug. She got up, gave him a big hug and started crying. The next day when we treated her son she brought us delicious home baked muffins and a personal thank you note.
Two of our volunteer dentists treated Destiny, a 9th grader with a lot of decay. Their work included treatment on her front teeth. Destiny told the school coordinator that now she would "be able to smile for the camera Monday night at the soccer awards." Dental care is empowering!
Destiny with Dr. Corinne Schenk and assistant Megan Hedrick
Volunteer hygienist, Lesley Harvey was cleaning a little kindergarten girl's teeth, her patient said “I love the dentist."
Lesley with another tooth taxi patient
During our screenings Dr. Heringer had the opportunity to educate two Multnomah ESD nurses first hand on identifying decay, staining, and pigment in the mouth. Many of the dental screenings in the schools fall to the nurses, so they were eager to learn from our experienced pediatric dentist.
Charlie La Tourette, new executive director of the DFO visited us in Estacada. We also received a visit from the Estacada News. The article and picture will be out in tomorrow’s edition.
Once again our volunteers greatly contributed to the success of our week. Thank you to Dr. Robert Darke and assistant Jennifer Wilkeson; Dr. Athena Bettger and pre-dent student assistant Ann Nguyen; Dr. Corinne Schenk and assistant Megan Hedrik; and hygienist Lesley Harvey. Their contributions to the Tooth Taxi program are invaluable. Other key players that contributed to our successful week are Terri Lloyd of Estacada SD and Catherine Kittams, Multnomah ESD RN.
Estacada stats:
- 59 Students screened
- 50 Students treated in the van
- $20,342 free dental treatment provided
The van will be back in Estacada on Friday Feb. 27, 2009 for Give Kids a Smile.
Tooth Taxi re-caps will resume Dec. 2nd.
Next week the Tooth Taxi will be off the road. Our vehicle will be in for scheduled maintenance, Dr. Heringer will be on a dental service trip to an orphanage in Romania, I will be in Hawaii celebrating my birthday, and Peggy will be back at the ranch, ramping up supplies for our December visits and working on our oral hygiene education component. Happy Thanksgiving.
Regards, Mary