By Larry Coonrod, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 12:00 am
The Dental Foundation of Oregon's Tooth Taxi rolled into Riverview School Monday to provide free dental care for uninsured and underinsured Lebanon students.
A specially modified 38-foot van, the Tooth Taxi is a state-of-the-art dental office. The mobile dental facility is a partnership between OEA Choice Trust and the The ODS Companies.
Riverview school was chosen as the location for the dental lab. About 50 Riverview students signed up, along with a handful from other schools, after the district sent home application materials and consent forms with students last month.
On Monday, Tooth Taxi staff and volunteers began doing exams and will spend the rest of the week providing follow-up dental care.
Local volunteers helping out while the Tooth Taxi is in town include dentist Cynthia Marshal and dental assistant Rachel Coleman from dentist Molly Slack's office.
Just about any dental procedure from cleaning to extraction and crowns can be performed inside the Tooth Taxi's two operating rooms. Should the need arise, a satellite uplink allows for consultation with experts at Oregon Health Science University.
Students can watch movies on monitors mounted above the dental chairs and get stickers and prizes after treatment.
"One of the benefits of this is giving kids a positive experience with a dentist," said Mary Daly, Tooth Taxi program manager.
Weston Heringer, the taxi's board-certified pediatric dentist, was the director of OHSU's pediatric dental residency program before joining the mobile dental program in July.
Heringer, a dentist since 1971, decided to quit OHSU and go on the road with the Tooth Taxi when the program called the university in search of a resident to hire.
"I like working with kids; every day is something new," he said.
After examining one young student Monday, he gently explained to the patient how he would "spray some stuff" on her tooth and "give it some sunshine," meaning he planned to give her shot in the mouth with a numbing agent and yank out a tooth.
Heringer said dental disease is the most common reason students miss school. In fact, Heringer said, medical researchers have shown a definite link between oral health and the overall health of the body. For example, people with periodontal (gum) disease have a much higher rate of heart disease, he said.
Riverview principal Rynda Gregory is grateful to have the Tooth Taxi at her school, even if means taking students out of class.
"The benefit is students won't have to focus on how they are feeling. They can focus more on their lessons," Gregory said. "Healthy kids are kids who are ready to learn."
According to a 2006 Oregon Department of Human Services report, "The Burden of Oral Disease in Oregon," 24 percent of children ages 6 to 8 have untreated tooth decay.
Since hitting the road in September, the Tooth Taxi has served students in eight cities.
"W're hoping to treat 3,000 kids this year," Daly said. "Our goal is to cover areas where students don't have access to dentists."
For more information about the Tooth Taxi, go to www.smileonoregon.org.