Mobile dental clinic visits West Plains schools

By RYAN LANCASTER

Staff Reporter

About 30 Medical Lake Elementary students got a check-up on the go Tuesday, Jan. 19, when the Tooth Savers traveling dental service visited the school.

Dental hygienist Gail Heacox started the mobile program to provide low-cost preventative care to public school students in Spokane County. She said she ran a pilot program at two schools last year and has signed up 10 schools on this year's route so far.

Heacox has worked in the dental field since 1974 and graduated from the dental hygiene program at Eastern Washington University in 1996. A few years later she traveled around the state with a team from the University of Washington, visiting rural public schools to give children dental screenings, referrals and fluoride treatments. “Most of these kids couldn't get to the dentist for whatever reason, so we brought preventative care to them,” she said.

Around this time Heacox decided to start her own traveling clinic that could offer more services than the university program and wouldn't chug to a halt when the grants ran out. She still focuses on populations less likely to receive private dental care, offering visual dental screenings, oral hygiene guidance, cleanings, fluoride varnish and sealants. The sealants, a thin plastic coating applied to the chewing surfaces of back teeth, are an especially effective defense for kids, she said, as they can block germs for years.

On Tuesday, Heacox's assistant Toni Carey brought students a few at a time into the MLE art room, where a temporary dental office was set up for the day. Heacox said her goal is always to quickly establish a repoire with a child before settling them into the chair in order to calm their nerves a little. “I tell them I don't do anything that hurts,” she said, adding that she lets kids know that a hand in the air is their “stop sign” to tell her when they want a break or have a question.

School counselor Tami Earthman, who sent program information and permission slips to MLE parents, said district administrators were just recently made aware of Tooth Savers and may bring it to other schools soon.

Heacox said in the fall she visited Salnave Elementary, Sunset Elementary and Cheney Middle School with plans to return for follow-ups this coming spring. On average, she performs services for about 30 children at each elementary school she visits and about 18 kids at each middle school.

Ryan Lancaster can be reached at [email protected].