Central Oregonian

Tooth Taxi makes a stop in town

The fully-equipped dental office on wheels will provide dental care to children in Crook County from March 29 to April 2

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Tooth Taxi was launched by the Oregon Dental Foundation in 2008. The dental van is a fully-equipped dental office on wheels catering to children in great dental care need. It will come to Prineville for the first time next week.

Jason Chaney

March 23, 2010

For the past two years, Crook County Community Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) has made a concerted effort to improve the dental health of local children.

This coming week they will get a boost from the Tooth Taxi.

Twice a year, since 2008, CHIP has provided kindergarten through fifth grade students in the Crook County School District with free fluoride varnishes and dental health "tool kits" filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. With the Tooth Taxi, for an entire school week, students in need from kindergarten to high school can receive free basic dental care, including exams, cleanings, and sealants, as well as teeth restorations and extractions.

"It (the Tooth Taxi) is a fully-equipped dental office on wheels," said CHIP coordinator Sharon Vail. The 38-foot van features two state-of-the-art dental operatory units. "This is their second year of operation," Vail went on to say. "They go to schools all over the state."

Although the fluoride varnishes and tool kits have been available for all elementary school students, the Tooth Taxi caters to those with the greatest dental health needs.

CHIP has carried out dental health screenings, which have helped them prioritize which students have the greatest need.

"We're looking for uninsured kids, and Oregon Health Plan children because many of them haven't seen a dentist," Vail explained. "We have kids with 10 or 12 cavities that have never seen a dentist that will definitely be seen."

Based on the screenings and surveys that CHIP has conducted in the past, the overall dental health of Crook County students has room for improvement.

"When CHIP did the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth survey, we found 42 percent of our children k-5 had tooth decay," Vail said. "We know from our screening for the Tooth Taxi of middle and high school that there are kids who have never been to a dentist. We have personally identified more than 100 children that have great need."

On the Tooth Taxi, Dr. Weston W. Heringer Jr., a board-certified pediatric dentist provides dental care at each stop. During their Crook County stop, Vail said the community will likely provide "additional dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants."

As far as future visits go, Vail said that CHIP hopes the Tooth Taxi will come back next year, but that eventually visits will no longer be unnecessary.

"Tooth decay is preventable," Vail said. "We're working to improve."