Traveling dentists: Oral Health On Wheels provides free dental care

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By Rachel Luchmun

Oral Health On Wheels (OHOW), an extension of the college’s dental hygiene’s on-campus clinic, is dedicated to bringing free dental care to underserved communities.

OHOW is based in a fully-equipped truck, which sports X-rays and digital imaging, as well as wheelchair access. Two patients can be attended to at the same time, with eight patients being treated on a given day.

“We offer the same level of care as our on-campus clinic,” said Heather Flick, professor of Dental Hygiene and OHOW project coordinator. “We provide patients with dental care tips and referral services, in the case where they would need care we do not offer, such as fillings for example.”

Second year dental hygiene students rotate three weeks at a time on Mondays and Wednesdays to staff the truck. They are accompanied by a qualified dentist and a Spanish interpreter, as the patients are predominantly Spanish-speaking.

“Students gain experience with different patients than what they are used to [in the on-campus clinic],” Flick said. “They learn how to deal with patients with disabilities, for example. They also have the advantage of a one-to-one ratio between faculty and students. It is a win-win situation for students and the patients.”

Student Bree Keesling said the experience given by OHOW is definitely different from a conventional clinic.

“I feel [my OHOW experience] broadened my horizons of what we would expect to see in a private practice,” Keesling said. “Several of the patients have severe disabilities and most of us have not had experience to deal with that prior.”

Keesling said that while students lacked experience in dealing with patients with disabilities, supporting staff were by their side the whole time to ensure the smooth operation of the clinic.

Student Jessica Crawford also said her experience on OHOW was positive.

“I learned a lot because we got to work one on one with a doctor and were able to fine-tune our skills and become better hygienists,” Crawford said. “Being able to have opportunities such as the oral health care truck makes me so excited that I have chosen a career path that I love.”

Founded in May 2008, OHOW aims at bringing quality dental care to populations that may not be able to afford it, such as mentally and physically handicapped persons. OHOW is partnered with two Johnson County service agencies, Johnson County Developmental Supports and the Johnson County Health Department, and a local faith-based outreach center, Center of Grace, Olathe. Patients do not have to pay for services offered by OHOW as it is funded by the college.

Contact Rachel Luchmun, staff reporter, at rluchmun@jccc.edu.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I am beginning to see more of mobile dental care units being put to action in institutes and dental foundations for those who cannot travel in various locations. This is a wonderful service. My hat goes off to you.

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