Success Stories

On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update

by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update Number 25 | 06/29/09 | MESD Migrant Program

The Multnomah Educational Service District (MESD) runs an annual summer migrant program for students in K-8^th grade and each year the location varies based on what school is available to host the program. We were parked at Reynolds Middle School in Fairview which is next to West Salish Pond located in Salish Pond Wetlands Park. On Wednesday the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife distributed free fishing poles and reels to the students. The pond is small but quite deep and is stocked with trout. If you’ve ever been to Salishan Lodge on the coast you may be familiar with this bit of history on the origin of the name Salish - the Oregon coast was inhabited by several branches of the Salish or Salishan Indians.

Volunteer Patty Peirano & Happy Tooth Taxi Patient

Patty Peirano who volunteered with us on Monday began her fellowship in Pediatric Dentistry at OHSU on Wednesday. We met Patty last year when she worked at the Milwaukie Head Start, where the Tooth Taxi ran a 2^nd test run before venturing out to the schools.

While we are in the process of hiring our next dental assistant the ODS dental customer service department has loaned us two of their reps to assist on the Tooth Taxi.

assistant Michelle Kline & a Tooth Taxi Patient

We often see children with abscessed teeth which we categorize as needs immediate attention.

child with tooth abscess

If we encounter students in our travels that have a lot of needs we track them so if we are back in the vicinity we can get them in for additional appointments. Last week we were able to continue treatment on a student from Tigard that we saw in June. The Mom is able to provide transportation and we will try to see him for a 3^rd appointment this summer. The nature of the summer programs allows us to see some “patients of record.”

From the kids gallery:

Our patient had for the first time a lower numb lip; she had a permanent tooth extracted and a filling with absolutely no discomfort. The patient says to Dr. Heringer “My lip hurts a little bit”. Dr. Heringer tells her it’s going to be that way for 3 hours. The patient says “that’s better than having it hurt forever” (because she’s been in pain for 2 years).

MESD migrant program stats:

56 students screened
10 students treated in the van
$10,844 value of free dental services provided.

Summary
Tooth Taxi, September 2008- July 1, 2009

3523 students screened
359 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
1271 students treated in the van
$822,033 value of free dental services provided.

We also screened kids last week at the Children’s Community Clinic on NE Killingsworth. We will be back at the clinic the week of July 20^th with the Tooth Taxi.

Next week on the road:
Next week on the road: Schedule change due to student availability– we will only be at the Police Activities League (PAL) in Gresham for two days and we will be at OCDC in Cornelius for 2 days.

Next week’s recap:
Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC) in The Dalles.

Regards, Mary