All Aboard the Tooth Taxi
On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update
by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update Number 59 | March 18, 2010 | Cave Junction and Gold Beach
Cave Junction is located in the Siskiyou Mountain Range of Southwest Oregon at the basin of the Illinois River Valley. Cave Junction, aptly named as it is located at the Junction of Redwood Highway (US Route 199) and Caves Highway (Oregon Route 46). Cave Junction also known as “Gateway to the Oregon Caves” is home to the Oregon Caves National Monument. A history of gold mining and logging, now replaced with tourism. A surprise dusting of snow in Cave Junction!
Jannie Heller, teacher at Cave Junction provided safe overnight parking for the Tooth Taxi at her home 4 miles south of town, thanks Jannie!
With a small population of students that signed up for the Tooth Taxi at Cave Junction our OEA Choice Trust sponsors contacted Riley Creek Elementary in Gold Beach to see if they could accommodate us for a day of service, and they were willing to do so. They have since submitted a Tooth Taxi site visit request for a weeklong visit.
A couple of firsts for the Tooth Taxi last week: we have touched the lives of over 6,000 students with our screenings and 1-on-1 education, and The Tooth Taxi crossed the border into California on our drive from Cave Junction to Gold Beach.
From the kid gallery:
Dr. Heringer: “So, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Patient: “Yeah, I have one older brother, he’s in eighth grade, he’s almost a senior.”
Morning announcement over the PA system at Cave Junction: “Kids on playground, do not throw snowballs!”
Dr. Heringer gave an oral hygiene presentation to a class of 3rd graders; when he talked about dietary problems that teens have with teeth he gave the students a hint, “it comes out of a vending machine”. One student raised his hand and said, “drinking beer.”
Realities from the road:
Dr. Heringer: “So what’s your dad do?” Patient: “He’s in prison.”
Other notes:
Cave Junction:
- 39% of students screened needed treatment.
- 61% needed no treatment.
Gold Beach:
- 44% of students screened needed treatment.
- 56% needed no treatment.
Fringe benefits of the job:
Herds of Elk spotted along the coastal drive.
Evergreen Elem Stats - Cave Junction March 8-10, 2010:
- 28 students screened
- 110 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 12 students treated in the van
- $7,191 value of free dental services provided.
Riley Creek Elem Stats – Gold Beach March 11, 2010:
- 25 students screened
- 0 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 8 students treated in the van
- $5,581 value of free dental services provided.
Summary
Tooth Taxi, September 4, 2008- March 12, 2010
- 6025 students screened
- 2278 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 2303 students treated in the van
- $1,535,238 value of free dental services provided.