Smiles at Bryan Elementary will be a little brighter, thanks to a new countywide dental program.
Through a partnership among the Florida Department of Health of Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tampa Family Health Centers, Suncoast Community Health Centers and MORE Health Inc., two mobile dental offices visited eight Title 1 schools throughout the county to offer preventative dental care to second-graders.
Suncoast Community Health Centers Director and dentist Dr. Randy Valdez led the mobile unit dedicated to Eastern Hillsborough County, which rolled into Plant City Feb. 18, to serve about 100 students at Bryan. Valdez and his team of assistants examined and treated each student. Those with permanent teeth also received a dental sealant that can protect the teeth for as long as 10 years. Exams required parental consent.
“We’re very delighted,” Valdez said of the program. “We’ve had a very high percentage of parent consent.”
The mobile unit’s visit to Bryan was the culmination of the program that began in the classroom with a mascot and story, titled “Mojo’s Dental Sealant Day,” and other tools designed to enhance education, said Kim Herremans, community dental health coordinator Department of Health.
The program targets second-graders, because that is the age in which students get their first permanent teeth. It also is the perfect age in which to cement good dental habits, Herremans said.
The program began as an initiative to target pediatric dental disease, the No. 1 chronic childhood illness, according to the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation. Furthermore, the mobile aspect of the Hillsborough program allows the agencies to combat the largest barriers to children receiving care: time and logistics.
“For many of these parents, transportation is an issue,” Herremans said. “And for the population we serve, if they miss a day of work, they may not have that job when they get back.”
Bryan Assistant Principal Jarrod Haneline said he is pleased with the program.
“This is a luxury that these students don’t normally have,” he said. “For many of our parents, missing a day of work to take a child to the dentist means no meal.”
Surprisingly, Herremans said about 80% of the students the program served this year actually carried dental insurance or Medicaid coverage. In those cases, the program billed the providers directly. For those who are not insured, a $184,000 federal grant is utilized to cover costs.
Each student also received a kit containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash.
In addition to Bryan, the program visited Cork Elementary in Plant City, as well as six other schools, Gibsonton, Mort, Ruskin, Shaw, Sulphur Springs and Witter elementary schools.
In March, Herremans will present statistics to the Hillsborough County School Board for evaluation. She hopes to expand the program next year.
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.
FLUORIDATION BEGINS
Plant City’s municipal water supply now contains fluoride.
The treatment, made possible by a $386,000 grant from the state, was added Feb. 20, said Kim Herremans, community dental health coordinator Department of Health.
The Plant City Commission debated the project for more than five years. In 2010, commissioners voted to pursue the state grant, which was obtained last summer.