All Aboard the Tooth Taxi
On The Road Again: A Tooth Taxi Update
by Mary Daly, Program Manager, Tooth Taxi
Update Number 67 | May 10, 2010 | Gilchrist
Gilchrist, located between Bend and Klamath Falls in Klamath County was the last lumber company town in Oregon. Founded in 1938 by Frank and Mary Gilchrist the family owned Gilchrist Timber Company existed until 1991. The school built in 1939 by the Public Works Administration still stands today; a project of President Franklin Roosevelt’s era and constructed by his “new deal” Federal Works Agency. This history resides on the schools bronze plaque along with another plaque that was a gift of the class of 1965: “Whoso neglects learning in his youth, loses the past and is dead for the future.” Euripides
Have you ever played cow pie bingo? Travel to Gilchrist to attend the upcoming HOEDOWN, a fund-raiser for Gilchrist High School FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) members who will be competing in the national competition.
We’ve seen photos of the soft drink company trucks parked next to the Tooth Taxi; see attached photos for an offering of what students have inside the school along with a high school student who came for his appointment with a large soft-drink. Usually the high-schoolers sheepishly park their sodas outside the van.
Volunteers:
Dr. Robert Rudell visited from Bandon on Oregon’s Southern Coast.
From the kid gallery:
Patient: “I have a lot of loose teeth for the Tooth Fairy.” Dr. Heringer: “Oh do you think you’ll get some money?” Patient: “Yeah.” Dr. Heringer: “How do you know?” Patient: “Oh I saw her on TV and I think she’s awesome!”
Dr. Heringer: “I pulled your tooth.”
Patient: “You what?”
Dr. Heringer: “I had to pull your tooth, so I did.”
Patient: “It didn’t hurt at all. I thought it was supposed to hurt.”
We treated two brothers, a Kindergartner and a 2nd grader. As protocol, we treated the kindergartner first and the 2nd grader afterwards. As the kindergartner passed his brother, who was on the way to his appointment, he yelled, “They’re gonna pull your teeth, they pulled two of mine!” “Did it hurt?” the brother asked, “Not at all, just don’t move your tongue!”
Realities from the road:
20% of last year’s female senior class was pregnant
Other notes:
- 63% of students screened needed treatment.
- 37% needed no treatment.
- Tooth Taxi miles driven: 206 (one-way, van stored in Bend over the weekend).
Quote from Principal Kevin McDaniel: “This is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen, what you guys are doing for this town. There is so much need.”
Fringe benefits of the job:
Commuting from Portland, no hotel stays!
Stats: Gilchrist Elementary School, May 10-13, 2010
- 49 students screened
- 93 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 33 students treated in the van
- $18,998 value of free dental services provided.
Summary
Tooth Taxi, September 4, 2008- May 13, 2010
- 6489 students screened
- 2791 students received oral hygiene education in the classroom
- 2549 students treated in the van
- $1,661,488 value of free dental services provided.