Success Stories
On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update
by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update Number 20 | 05/25/09 | Brooks/Gervais
Two elementary schools in the Gervais school district were sites for pre-screening: Brooks Elementary & Eldriedge Elementary. School coordinator Maricruz Camacho was terrific in getting all the students to us to pre-screen and then coordinated transportation for students to Brooks Elementary where we were parked last week. Surprisingly, for being so close to Salem our pre-screening results identified a high number of students with decay levels of category 3 (generalized decayed teeth) and category 4 (requires immediate attention, pain or infection). Of the over 300 students pre-screened 136 returned paperwork. The majority of the students that we treated were un-insured. This is a site that has more work for us to do. With a short week (Memorial Day) and a long drive to Klamath Falls for our next site visit, we decided to continue treatment at Brooks Monday morning and then head to Klamath Falls (since we wouldn’t make it to Klamath Falls in time to screen before school was out).
The school a short drive off I-5, roadside signs abundant for local peony and iris gardens; the grounds graced by a couple of large majestic old oak trees, providing quite a canopy of shade (although we weren’t parked under them).
Dr. Bruce Floor and a Tooth Taxi patient.
Tooth Taxi volunteer Veronica Soto
We had another eventful week: Dr. Bruce Floor of Salem volunteered with us, Chanel Kim returned for another volunteer stint as an assistant. Michele Paton, Gervais high school English teacher had contacted me several months ago about two high school students interested in dental careers – Veronica Soto and Horacio Bazua who each volunteered with us. PCC hygiene student Cecilia Alvarado provided an afternoon of cleanings and sealants for students and Jamie Marcy from our sponsor the OEA Choice Trust spent Thursday with us.
PCC hygiene student Cecilia Alvarado and Tooth Taxi patient
Jamie Marcy (from our sponsor the OEA Choice Trust)
Visitors to the Tooth Taxi – Uni-Serv Consultant Paul Kyllo
and staff member Jody.
On Thursday while Geneva was providing cleanings and sealants in the front chair, Dr. Heringer and James were surprised by a shower in the back chair. The AC unit on the roof overflowed into the back operatory. Once again, a bit of luck- the water missed the patient. A call to ADI and they informed me all I needed was a Phillips head screwdriver and the ladder to get on the roof and there I’d be able to unplug the drain. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems, but we did solve the immediate problem and did do a little de-construction on the unit. Nothing a screwdriver, headlamp, coat hanger, towel and broom handle couldn’t solve. Jamie our volunteer on the ground was very helpful and even climbed the ladder with the camera!
On Friday the Tooth Taxi parked at Portland’s Riverside Golf & Country Club for the Dental Foundation’s annual “Chip for Teeth” fundraiser. Tooth Taxi staff assistants James and Geneva were positioned to witness a hole-in-one out on the course.
Brooks stats:
- 328 students screened (pre-screening prior to TT visit)
- 42 students treated in the van
- $33,955 value of free dental services provided.
Summary
Tooth Taxi, September 2008 – June 1, 2009
- 2895 students screened
- 359 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 1097 students treated in the van
- $710,293 value of free dental services provided.
Next week on the road:
Metzger Elementary School in the Tigard School District
Next weeks recap:
Merrill and Malin Schools, Klamath Falls area
Regards, Mary
