Success Stories
On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update
by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update #9 | 3/30/09 | Milton Freewater
The Tooth Taxi launches a new phase traveling to schools east of the Cascade Mountains. Our first journey led us to Milton-Freewater where we screened students at three elementary schools and then parked at Freewater Elementary. Our travels often expose us to ironies in life, whether situations or signage. Last week we captured a noteworthy irony; candy and the dental van. We were parked in the lot where the school was advertising their candy sale.
noteworthy irony
Sheila Hagar the reporter from the Walla Walla Union Bulletin that wrote a great article about our visit the week before arrival invited us all to her home for dinner one evening. We were joined by her neighbor who is a Nurse and worked for Head Start for several years. It was another way to connect with the community and share more about our work. Sheila also sent a photographer to the Tooth Taxi to capture our story. One of the photos can be seen online:
“Here's some information I thought you'd find interesting regarding the Tooth Taxi. The primary funding for the Tooth Taxi comes from ODS and OEA. Our elementary students received $25,000 worth of dental work. 60% of students were from Freewater, 24% were from Grove and 8% from Ferndale. One child had about $700 worth of work done. They stated that our district was one of the needier (for dental care) that they've visited and that we were one of the best organized. Thank you Sue Wright for your efforts in making the Tooth Taxi successful. The Taxi members indicated that they will return as they had to triage a lot of children.”
“Thanks to all staff who allowed kids to leave class to have work done on their teeth. It's obvious, from the feedback, that they desperately needed to be seen by a dentist. Thanks to OEA and ODS for the contribution.”
On the day we left, the ladies in the office gave Dr.Heringer a big compliment when they told him “none of the kids came back crying or fussing.”Dr. Patrick Nearing, DFO Board President and his wife Barbara stopped at the Tooth Taxi in Milton-Freewater for a visit. Perfect timing for us, we put Dr. Nearing to work checking sealants on patients that our Assistant Geneva completed. We always welcome visitors from our board and sponsors; it’s nice to be able to share the program in action. I will be publishing the summer schedule soon, so if you’re out and about in the state this summer and your travels coincide with our site visits, stop by and say hello.
Dr. Nearing checking sealants on a patient
With our new assistants, Geneva and James, we are looking forward to ramping up the classroom oral hygiene presentations. Dr. Heringer modeled two presentations for us with an eager audience of fifty-three 2nd graders.
Compared to our visits in the Willamette Valley we found two significant differences in Milton-Freewater: more students with higher levels of decay and a significant number of students with no insurance. The last factor allowed us to focus service on those without other options.
The schools in Milton-Freewater were very easy to work with and were supportive of our program. There was also cooperation between the three schools in working out transportation for students. That is not always the case. We continue to look at ways to work better with the schools in preparing for a Tooth Taxi site visit. Holly Spruance with OEA Choice Trust has been visiting schools prior to our arrival which has helped. With a full staff on the Tooth Taxi, I drove to Stanfield and Hermiston on Wednesday to meet with the schools for next weeks visit. These visits help to lay the groundwork and allow the focus to remain on the children when we are at the schools. It is something that we will continue to develop. As we say, every week is an adventure and we’re still learning.
One of our first patients in the a.m. was a little girl that received two stainless steel crowns and sealant. Late afternoon her mother came to the van with her to thank us. I was outside talking with the Mom and the little girl kept running in and out of the van to say hello to James and Dr. Heringer (they were working on a patient, it was like game of peek-a-boo for her). That is a true measure of our success in our goal to give patients a positive dental experience. (see att photo of pt w/Dr. Heringer and James).
We received another welcome donation of fluoride varnish from the Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC) which helps our supply budget as we go through quite a bit of it.
Milton-Freewater stats:
- 99 students screened
- 53 students received classroom oral hygiene education
- 40 students treated in the van
- $25,041 value of free dental services provided.
Summary:
Tooth Taxi, September 2008 - March 5, 2009
- 1450 students screened
- 359 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 672 students treated in the van
- $436,118 value of free dental services provided.
Next week on the road: Umatilla
Next week's recap: Hermiston
Regards, Mary
