LAUREL HILL — Since Tuesday morning, there’s been a new addition to Laurel Hill School's campus. The Mobile Dental Clinic has made its first stop at an Okaloosa County school.
The two-chair traveling dentist’s office, a free service of the Santa Rosa Beach-based Children’s Volunteer Health Network, fills a needed role in children’s healthcare, LHS officials said.
“I think it’ll be a great partnership for the future as well as service our children really in need,” Laurel Hill School Principal Lee Martello said.
Laurel Hill — like Baker, the big blue bus’ next destination — has no dentist’s office, and with many families dependent on government financial assistance, obtaining oral health services is a hardship, clinic technicians said.
Only children from families eligible for government assistance can use the service. The clinic remains on location for about two weeks, or as long as it takes to see each student who’s signed up.
“The kids love coming out to the bus,” registered dental hygienist Kelly Taylor said. “We try to make sure they have a fun experience.”
The mobile clinic offers basic preventative dental services, including:
• X-rays/films
• Cleanings
• Exams by a volunteer dentist
• Fluoride treatment.
“And we do a lot of oral health education,” program manager and registered dental hygienist Denise Johnston said.
The Mobile Health Clinic grew from a need to augment the Health Network’s volunteer dentists, Executive Director Zach Billingsley said.
“It was clear we were overwhelming our dental providers,” he said. “We asked for funds for a planned dental van and it’s become a 30-foot RV.”
So far on its first visit, the clinic expects to treat about 30 Laurel Hill School kids, based on returned parental appointment forms.
Martello believes the numbers will rise as the service becomes regular.
Parents who want free Children’s Volunteer Health Network dental exams for their first- through fifth-graders at the Mobile Dental Clinic at Laurel Hill School through Nov. 27, or at Baker School beginning in mid-December, should complete the forms sent home with their students. Families must be eligible for government financial assistance to use the service. Call the Health Network, 622-3200, for more information.
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Free mobile dental clinic visits Laurel Hill School