Smiles In The Schools

On October 2nd Open Door “cut the ribbon” on its newest service, a sparkling mobile dental van fresh from the factory.

Congressman Mike Thompson with the children of Smith River Elementary School celebrate the new Del Norte Dental Van by showing their teeth to the camera

This van, and a newly hired staff, will serve children in Del Norte County exclusively. This new van was funded by The California Endowment as part of its Building Healthy Communities: Del Norte County and Adjacent Tribal Lands initiative. The van will visit schools throughout Del Norte County, providing comprehensive dental screening and treatment to children. According to Barbara Davis, Dental Sites Administrator and Mobile Dental Service Coordinator, “We can do almost everything on the van that we can do in the clinic. We schedule several schools to visit during the school year. In this, our first year, we’re starting at Smith River School. We’ll stay there until all of the children who need dental care, and have parental consent, are screened and treated. We won’t leave until all of the kids are taken care of. Then we move on to the next school and do the same thing. This means we may only get to 3 or 4 schools during a year.”

States Laura Olson, Program Manager for The California Endowment Building Healthy Communities initiative, “At the ribbon cutting, someone came up to me and said, ‘So this is really ours?’ referring to the new van and the idea that it will be in Del Norte and not leave the area. It was so gratifying to be able to say, ‘Yes!’ This is a major step forward in creating the infrastructure of access and services so needed if we are to address the pressing health needs in our community.”

During the extended school holidays and over the summer, the van will be located at the Del Norte Community Health Center and serve as extra treatment space. “We’re excited to be able to open up more access to dental services all year, whether at schools or here at the clinic,” notes Hilda Yepes-Contreras, site administrator of the Del Norte Community Health Center. “Access to care; that’s our priority.”

Robert Chiang, DDS, dental provider for the new Del Norte Mobile Dental Van

This sentiment is echoed by Robert Chiang, DDS, a dentist recruited specifically to work on the new Del Norte dental van. “It is wonderful to be able to provide a high level of service for so many kids . We’re still working out some of the kinks, this is only our second week, but I’m impressed with the van, the staff, the schools and the kids. This is a very exciting project.” Dr. Chiang works with registered dental assistants Linda Inman-Bourne and Laura Johnson. “We’re rapidly becoming a good team.”

The Del Norte mobile dental van is not a first for Open Door. Open Door has been providing mobile dental services at schools in Humboldt County since 1991. While not using a vehicle quite as shiny as the new van in Del Norte County, Diane Patkowski, DDS and registered dental assistants Claudia Wells and Mindy Ferreria have been “on the road” providing a full array of dental services to children throughout Humboldt County. During a typical year, the van visits 4 or 5 schools, staying at each school as long as it takes to provide dental screening and treatment to all children who have received parental consent for such services. Explains Barbara Davis, “We couldn’t finish up at South Fortuna Elementary School last spring, so that was the school we started with this fall. In all, we completed treatment for 120 children. We hope to get to four more schools this year, but we have to remain flexible based on the kid’s needs.” The schedule permits the van to return to a school every 3 years. The van is now at Grant Elementary School in Eureka and 86 children are lined up for screening and treatment.

Open Door's mobile dental van serves Humboldt County children.

“In both Del Norte and Humboldt,” explains Barbara, “We are treating children who might go without dental care due to limited access, lack of transportation or other family hardships. With the vans at the schools, parents don’t have to take time off from work and children actually miss less school time because our van is right here on campus.” Barbara emphasizes, “Every child qualifies for services; all we need is parental consent. Being at the school works to the children the dental care they need.

“In addition to treating children’s dental needs, we work with them to improve their self-care. We provide instruction and education about oral health care and talk with parents whenever possible. A person’s smile has a big impact on their self-esteem. For children, their health, happiness and well-being are particularly linked to how they feel about themselves. Following treatment we see how kids develop greater confidence as they begin to smile more” explains Barbara. “We focus on education and proper care at home, including how to brush and floss properly. We teach the children how to have fun with their dental care and to be proud of their efforts. We understand that kids all have different experiences and life situations. For children who are frightened we first give them a “Happy Visit” just to get them used to visiting the dentist. With full dental services offered on the van, starting with a comprehensive exam, the experience is the same as going to any dental office.”

Dr. Chiang notes, “When kids come in with pain it can be difficult to treat them because they are fearful of dentistry, particularly if this is their first visit. I remember one child who needed to have a tooth pulled, it had been bothering him for a long time and was totally decayed. It was scary for him. The next time he came in, he was more relaxed. Children are less fearful the second or third time they come in. Because it is designed to kid-friendly, children have a good experience coming to the van. There is less waiting and less anticipation and they see their peers going to the van too.”