Mobile crew fills a need in area schools

Daniela Mohor

Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 | 3:50 a.m.

Lying on a dentist chair, 7-year-old James Lund quietly stared at the roof, while Dr. Febiana Paran looked at his teeth.

A tooth abscess had kept him in pain for days and, after X-rays, cleaning and a lecture from a dental hygienist, he was getting some relief.

But this wasn't a normal trip to a dentist. He was getting his care in a converted bus.

Lund is one of the hundreds of children who have benefited from free dental care through the Miles for Smiles program, which takes the care to the students.

The bus parks at various school campuses and St. Rose Dominican Hospital. Children are referred through screenings and by staff for dental work, and the appointments are made on site, to make them as convenient as possible.

Created three years ago through a grant by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the program is operated by the Community College of Southern Nevada. It relies on the collaboration of five dentists, who volunteer part of their time to work in the fully equipped bus, treating children whose parents cannot afford dental care.

Two dental assistants and students from the Community College's School of Dental Hygiene help the doctors.

"Very often dental care is considered a luxury and children don't get the treatment that they need," said Tender Reeves, a dental assistant. "So it's nice that we don't have to worry about payment."

The dental assistants and the students go to schools in low-income neighborhoods and identify the children who need care, rating them from one to five. One means that they are in good health, five that they are in pain.

To qualify for the program, children must meet specific requirements, such as being eligible for the federal free lunch program, coming from a low-income family or being homeless.

With the purpose of breaking the cycle of dental neglect, Miles for Smiles also provides children and teachers with education on oral hygiene. Staff and volunteers go to the classrooms to show children how to take care of their teeth and give teachers a curriculum to use in their classes.

The Miles for Smiles bus started working with St. Rose Dominican Hospital in August.

Because a 1998 study by the U.S. Surgeon General Office shows that Nevada ranks among the worst states in terms of access to dental care, Miles for Smiles is critical, officials say. Every day the volunteer dentists see schoolchildren with serious dental problems: retained baby teeth, permanent molars rotten with cavities and abscesses are some of the most frequent illnesses they treat.

But in the three years it has been operating, Miles for Smiles officials have already seen some improvement. At C.P. Squires Elementary School, for instance, three years ago 400 of the 1,000 students screened needed urgent care. A year later only 54 students were in that condition.

"It's been very successful," Cathy Lytle, the program manager, said. "In each school that we've been to, we've seen the number of kids with the need for urgent care go down."

For parents with financial difficulties, Miles for Smiles is a big relief.

James Lund's mother, Melissa Lund, is one of many grateful parents. With no health insurance and thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay, Lund said she didn't have money to take James to the dentist. Now, thanks to Miles for Smiles, her three children will be treated.

"It's very helpful because the holiday is coming up ... and the money is really tight now," she said.

Users are not alone in their praise. Providers say they benefit from the program well.

Dental hygiene students said working on the bus gives them a practical application for their classroom learning.

"In the clinic at school we have instructors watching us," senior Nicole Horn said. "Here it's a little more like the real world."

Doctors learn from the experience, too. In the year and a half she has been volunteering for the program, Paran said she learned how to work with young patients.

"It's something different," she said. "In private practice you see more adults. Here I see children and I learn how to manage kids better."