Giving Kids Something To Smile About

The Children’s Dental Center Gets to the Root of Oral Health

by Cathy Curtis

Oral Health
First graders from Oak Street Elementary School in Inglewood play “dentist” and learn about good nutrition at TCDC’s Shannon Kelly Toothfairy Cottage. Photos: Robert Pacheco

What’s the most common chronic childhood disease that is five times more prevalent than asthma? You may be surprised to learn that it’s tooth decay.

Los Angeles County is home to 460,000 children in low-income families who lack dental insurance. Even families with Denti-Cal or Healthy Families coverage often have trouble finding a dentist who will accept it. Those who manage to pay out-of-pocket are typically treated by “drill and fill” dentists who provide no preventive care.

So it’s no wonder poor and minority children suffer disproportionately from dental disease, which can have a damaging effect on young lives. The pain of a toothache can keep a child from attending school, eating nutritious foods or getting a good night’s sleep. Lack of dental treatment can result in speech problems that delay social development.

The bright spot in this picture is The Children’s Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles (TCDC), which received a three-year, $200,000 grant from TCWF in June 2007 to provide health services for underserved children in Los Angeles County. Since its founding in 1995, the Inglewood-based center has provided a “dental home” for underserved children in Los Angeles County. Last year, screening, treatment and educational visits reached an all-time high of nearly 60,000.

“We give these children every bit of information about proper oral hygiene and oral health,” said Dr. Steven Uranga McKane, TCDC clinical director. “We cover topics from nutrition to how to protect the children from dental injury when they’re playing.”

The center’s work also involves educating and treating children’s caregivers to create a more supportive environment for oral health in the home. A paid staff of 15—augmented by dental students and faculty from local universities and colleges—provides dental screenings and treatment at a state-of-the-art clinic known as The Smile Store.

Tooth Decay

Across the street, The Shannon Kelly Toothfairy Cottage welcomes children with interactive learning programs led by trained volunteers. By playing “dentist” with puppet “patients,” peering through microscopes to look at germs and learning a toothbrushing jingle, children absorb important lessons about oral health. Additional education and screening sessions take place in schools and other community settings.

“It’s a very comprehensive, very child-centered prevention program,” said Sandra J. Martínez, TCWF program director. “Children really do learn about all the factors that go into being healthy, as well as having healthy teeth.”

TCDC thrives despite low reimbursement rates from Denti-Cal, thanks to targeting a wide circle of donors consisting of individuals, corporations and foundations like TCWF that allow the center to use funding as needed, without imposing restrictions.

“The other thing we do on a constant basis is work very closely with the donors to let them know how valuable they are,” said Dennis J. Young, TCDC president and CEO. “We have our board call donors and thank them, and we send out notes that say, ‘Here’s what we’ve done and how you’ve helped.’”

For more information, visit http://www.tcdc.org.