As 4-year-old Dixie Villa climbed onto the dental chair, the Berenstain Bears played on a nearby television. The comforting cartoon created an inviting atmosphere for Villa, of New Lenox, and 14 other children at Cherry Hill Early Childhood Center in New Lenox who were examined in the Will County Community Health Center Mobile Dental Unit last week.
For Villa, the news was good.
“Your big girl teeth are coming in,” Dentist Francis Tan told the child.
Three days a week, Tan steps away from his private practice in Darien, taking to the streets in what he refers to as “the van,” providing exams, cleanings, x-rays, extractions and fittings at schools, nursing homes, homeless shelters and other facilities, he said. Using what Tan described as high-quality equipment on the mobile unit, he and his colleagues are able to provide nearly every dental service that does not require a lab.
And during February, designated National Dental Health Month, they hope to use the mobile practice to spread awareness about proper care for the teeth, according to Sangita Garg, who has been the county health center’s dental clinic director for 17 years.
The effort’s target audience usually is a receptive one.
“We try to see mostly kids in the van,” Tan said.
One reason is that many parents mistakenly believe that taking care of baby teeth is not as critical, he said. Because these first teeth remain up to twelve years, he encourages parents to follow the American Dental Association guidelines and take children to their first dental appointment around their first birthday.
Calling it “a happy visit,” Tan said that initial appointment allows children to get acclimated with the process, and allows dentists to speak with parents about proper oral hygiene.
Putting a child to bed with a bottle of milk is a common cause of rotted teeth that can be prevented, he said. He frequently sees “abscesses and rampant decay,” among children and wants to educate parents about ways to prevent that. Because children do not always verbalize pain, they can walk around with abscesses and parents don’t always know it, Tan said.
Lendita Istogu, of Joliet, is a certified dental assistant who also drives the van. Part of her role is to verify insurance for the children and adults who have it. If they don’t, a health department grant covers the cost, she said.
As she described the complexities of dental insurance, the upshot, she said, is “parents don’t have to worry.”
Adults pay based on income using a sliding scale, and the “prices are very low,” she said. When the bus travels to homeless shelters, for example, a United Way grant pays for services. The vehicle also visits nursing homes, drug recover units and veterans’ clinics, she said.
“We don’t turn anybody away,” Tan said.
At Cherry Hill School, which has about 120 preschool children ages 3 to 5, students can meet the dentist in a familiar setting surrounded by teachers and people they know, said Principal Emily Schissler.
“For a lot of our students, it’s their first opportunity to have their teeth cleaned,” Schissler said.
Also assisting Tuesday was dental student Ismail Dogar, of Lombard. Dogar is one of a series of students rotating to the initiative from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine.
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School nurse Eileen Moss held the children’s hands as they walked up the steps. As one boy had his teeth cleaned, she gave him a thumbs up and a smile.
“I’m amazed at how brave some of them are,” Moss said.
Parents are informed about the mobile dental unit coming to their school, giving them the option to have their children participate, Moss explained.
“It has been estimated that approximately 15 percent of Americans avoid seeing the dentist because of anxiety and fear,” Garg said. “Individuals with dental phobia have a higher risk of gum disease, decayed teeth and early tooth loss. These same people also suffer from poor overall health and even lower life expectancy.”
Heart disease and pregnancy complications are two of the potentially life threatening conditions that are linked to improper dental care, Garg said.
But 4-year-old Villa had no phobia. Dressed in a pink frilly skirt and pink top, Villa shook her head yes when Tan asked if pink was her favorite color. Dogar gave her a pink toothbrush to match her outfit.
As the school nurse helped the girl zip up her coat to leave, Moss asked Villa if her trip to the dentist hurt.
Villa shook her head no.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.