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Area still far behind others in dental care for children
By Nancy Malcom
Nevada Herald
The Miles for Smiles van has been in Nevada for the last two weeks tending to the dental needs of 78 area students in grades K-12. Based in Bolivar's Citizen's Memorial Hospital, the van is funded by federal grants.
Throughout the year, this traveling dentist office visits nine Missouri counties including Barton, Camden, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Hickory, Polk, St. Clair and Vernon. Although they treat people of various ages, they spend a great deal of their time treating children in school grades kindergarten through high school.
Their services fill a great need. Many dentists in this area and throughout Missouri, simply have no time to take on new patients, and most only see limited numbers of children receiving MC+ (a health insurance offered by the state of Missouri for low income children), Medicaid or those with no insurance at all.
The van is completely self contained and is equipped with an x-ray machine, two dental chairs, and a small television by each chair so children can watch a video while being examined or treated.
Treatments offered include examination, x-rays, oral hygiene instruction, cleaning and floride treatment, sealants, injections, deep and temporary fillings, extractions, stainless steel crown, space maintainers and scaling.
Younger students are given kits to take home that have toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, crayons and a coloring book describing good dental hygiene.
"We have done a lot of extractions here in Nevada, and lots of capping," dental assistant Vicki Dendy said.
She added that Nevada continues to have the highest rates of many of the dental problems they have encountered in their nine- county area.
She suggested more public awareness of the value of good dental hygiene beginning at an early age.
"Bottle mouth" is still a big problem and she reminded parents to not let a toddler go to sleep with a bottle or sippy cup of milk or any fluid except water.
Other tips she offered to encourage good dental health are brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, fixing a reward chart using stickers as rewards for brushing. Dendy chuckled and added, "Of course with the older kids, other incentives work better, like reminding them that looking good includes a nice smile." Dendy also suggested volunteers from the community help with more public awareness programs.
The Miles for Smiles van will be visiting the other schools in Vernon County later this spring and will be at the Vernon County Health Department building this summer.
The project is funded by the Missouri Federation for Health.
For more information, call (417) 328-6334 or contact your local school.