The Tooth Taxi Comes to Town

When I was young, it seemed as though everyone I knew was poor. A visit to the doctor for anything less than a broken limb or an appendicitis attack was unheard of, and only a toothache that lasted a week or more was deemed worthy of a trip to the dentist.

There were hardly any preventive shots then, and, if you had teeth that stuck out, you were stuck with them for life. I never saw a kid with braces until I grew up and had children of my own.

My children were more fortunate, although they might dispute that term, since none of them were happy campers when a doctor or dental appointment was scheduled. Some children still came from families who couldn't afford regular check-ups or dental care, but far fewer than when I was young.

However, times are changing. More and more families with young children are finding that they can no longer afford regular visits for these things. Because of job layoffs or cutbacks in hours, parents are having to decide what they can continue to spend money on and what they will have to do without. Too often, routine (and sometimes even urgent) dental care is one of the things being put off until later.

"Later" may be a long way off, or even never, for some of these kids. That's why the Tooth Taxi that arrived in the small town of Springfield, Oregon this week was gladly welcomed by the parents of such children.

The Tooth Taxi is a large Winnebago, outfitted with state-of-the-art X-Ray machines and two work stations, and it travels around our whole state to provide on-site dental services to uninsured or under-insured children.

Besides the equipment I mentioned earlier, the Tooth Taxi boasts a ceiling mounted screen on which Tom and Jerry, or similar cartoons are viewed by the small patients as they are having their teeth worked on. Most of the kids are understandably apprehensive when they enter the Tooth Taxi, but reportedly leave in a much better frame of mind. (Tom and Jerry probably has a lot to do with that.)

Although the program is coordinated through the Oregon State Department of Human Services, Dr. Weston Heringer is the dentist who travels around with the Tooth Taxi most of the time. Volunteer dentists and dental hygienists from each local area donate their time to help with the work.

The 38-foot Winnebago actually parks on the school grounds for up to a week at a time while students are being treated.

Students who might benefit from the services provided by the Tooth Taxi are pinpointed by screening kids who qualify for the free lunch program, or who are recommended by teachers who have noticed that particular children need some kind of dental attention. Thousands of kids now receive dental care through this program every year.

In case you're wondering how much a program like this costs, Oregon's Tooth Taxi set up cost was approximately $500,000 for purchasing and equipping the Winnebago. The cost of operating it for a year is estimated at $400,000 to $500,000. Not really an exorbitant amount when you consider that it is covering a whole state and providing a lot of fillings and sealants against future decay to some of the most vulnerable people in our whole population.

I wrote this article, because I know from personal experience just how it feels to be one of the little kids who only visited a dentist after every home remedy to stop the horrible aching of an infected tooth had failed, and when it was already too late to save the tooth. I think the Tooth Taxi is well worth every cent our state is spending on it.

If your state doesn't have a program like the Tooth Taxi, why not forward this article to one of your state legislators and see if you can't get one started?