Ronald McDonald ‘Tooth Truck’ serves youth in W.P. By Chris Herbolsheimer chrish@wpdailyquill.net Missouri’s only Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Unit — known affectionately as the “Tooth Truck” —has been in West Plains for the first time for the past several weeks, visiting all schools within the R-7 district and providing free dental care for children. To date, 249 students have been seen, 598 cavities diagnosed and $227,498 of treatment has been provided. Helping kids for nearly 19 years, the Tooth Truck is a two-operator mobile dental clinic for children. Based in Springfield, the mission of the Tooth Truck is to provide dental treatment and prevention education for at-risk children in southwest Missouri. Any child who qualifies for the free or reduced school lunch program is eligible for treatment on the Tooth Truck, regardless of whether or not they have Medicaid coverage. “These are children who most likely have never been to a dentist before. Our goal is to complete every child’s treatment plan so they are cavity-free and at the same time instill a strong sense of self-worth,” said Mindy Muñoz, program director of Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. Many families in the region have significant barriers to accessing dental healthcare. For example, 71% of Missouri dentists don’t accept Medicaid patients because the reimbursement rate for their service is so low. Or, transportation may not be available or reliable. The truck, then, provides children with dental care while they’re already at school. Treatments include restorative procedures like fillings and crowns, preventive care such as cleanings, fluoride and sealant, along with diagnostics including exams, evaluations and X-rays. Also adjunct services like consultations and anesthesia, oral surgery like extractions and endodontics including root canals and pulpotomies. Funding for the Tooth Truck is provided by donations from the community and Medicaid reimbursement. In 2021, an operating budget of $618,345 is projected to be funded by more than$250,000 from Medicaid reimbursement and nearly $370,000 in donations. Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks works with local communities to raise needed funding for the program to operate. Donations may be made online at RMHCozarks.org. The Tooth Truck is committed to complete each child’s treatment plan and through the process, build self-esteem through education and the friendship and support of staff. The Tooth Truck encourages each family to find a permanent dental home through communication with parents and partnerships with local dental clinics. Every Tooth Truck patient in West Plains will receive information about the Southern Missouri Community Health Center. A child may receive treatment on the Tooth Truck once every two years unless the child is in pain or there is decay evident. Over the past nine years, the Tooth Truck has conducted “recall studies” every three years. About 200 former Tooth Truck patients with completed treatment plans are randomly selected for each study to evaluate their dental hygiene status. All three studies to date have shown over 90% of these patients have the same or increased oral hygiene since their treatment was completed. This is a great indicator that not only is the Tooth Truck reaching children in need, the prevention education with each child is making a difference. https://www.westplainsdailyquill.net/stories/ronald-mcdonald-tooth-truck-serves-youth-in-wp,118547?
West Plains Elementary student Addison Watson receives treatment from Dr. Sarah Cimino, left, and dental assistant Megan Sanders.
COURTESY PHOTO Posted Thursday, May 6, 2021 12:00 am