Mike James/The Independent
Westwood — Children lined up outside an idling tractor-trailer on Monday at Fairview Elementary School as though awaiting entry to a funhouse.
The treat they were waiting for was a visit to the dentist for an exam and tooth cleaning. For some it really was fun, but what the children may not have realized was that their collective dental appointment was protecting their pearlies while saving their parents a world of aggravation.
The Kids First Dental Care mobile office rolled into the school for a two-day stay; some 120 students were slated for exams, said Fairview Family Resource Center coordinator Brenda Hale.
The office includes a digital X-ray setup, including a flat-screen monitor that displays a mouthful of teeth seconds after the technician flips the switch.
“This is awesome. This is so cool,” said 10-year-old Abby Holmes when she saw her X-rays.
At the other end is the three-seat exam room where Murray and more technicians check and clean the choppers.
Barbourville dentist Edwin Smith set up the office in a used CAT scan trailer and started taking it to schools in southeast Kentucky, said Melissa Murray, the dentist on duty Monday.
Smith had been treating children referred to him through the family resource center in his county and knew that getting children to the dentist often was a challenge for parents in two-income families, Murray said.
He now is in his third year of offering the mobile service, which is much more than a perfunctory screening.
After the cleaning, the dentist on duty completes a treatment plan that parents can take to a local practitioner for followup. That can take a couple of days so children who need immediate treatment get their plan right away.
“Prevention is the key. If we can get them early enough and teach them hygiene early enough, it can prevent problems,” she said.
While the office is part of a for-profit practice, students and parents never have to pay out of pocket. Medicaid, KCHIP and private dental insurances pay where applicable but there’s no cost to the school, students or parents, according to the program’s Web site.
Hale said the program brings dental accessibility to families who depend on Medicaid or KCHIP, which is the state insurance program for low-income children.
Of 62 dentists she found listed locally, only three take Medicaid or KCHIP, she said.
The program includes a followup visit in a year; children who haven’t had their teeth fixed by then can have it done through the program.
“It’s another way of making sure kids don’t fall through the cracks,” Hale said.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
