On the Tooth Truck, One of 50 Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles, Kids See Their Teeth "On TV" and Get Motivated to Take Care of Their Smiles in a Whole New Way
NEW YORK-- A few months ago, MouthWatch, LLC sent an intraoral camera to Dr. Sarah Cimino, a general dentist who works with a Ronald McDonald Care Mobile to reach underserved kids in the Ozarks. Focused on dental care, the "Tooth Truck" serves thousands of kids annually. When MouthWatch COO Bob Bellhouse reached out to see how the camera was working for their mobile dental health work, Dr. Cimino wrote back:
"Definitely a huge asset to our public health practice! We've had lots of instances where the camera allowed us to show a child an area they weren't brushing well or a cavity on a back tooth.… We recently were able to use it with a young autistic child (5 years old) who was hesitant to allow any part of the cleaning appointment but stated that, 'I want to see my teeth on the TV!' As a result, we were able to visually examine all of her teeth with the camera when otherwise we wouldn't have been able to do anything. The child left with a huge smile on her face and a sense of accomplishment that we hope will carry through to her next dental appointment…"
This kind of dental screen time is working to help kids get enthusiastic about taking care of their teeth. As the Tooth Truck webpage points out, it's a big change from where the kids are starting:
"Most of our Tooth Truck patients have never been to a dentist. With prevention education accompanying treatment, we aspire to prevent tooth decay, the number-one chronic childhood disease, one child at a time."
Reaching these underserved kids has been incredibly fulfilling work, says Dr. Cimino. She initially planned to stay a year at the program before opening up a private practice. She's been there now 6 years and says she has no plans to leave.
The work Dr. Cimino and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program are doing is meeting a crucial need in the Ozarks. It's a need that exists nationwide:
•Tooth decay is the most widespread chronic childhood disease.
•52% of six- to eight-year-olds already have tooth decay.
•Almost 80% of tooth decay in poor children is untreated. [Stats at http://www.rmhcozarks.org/]
MouthWatch's outreach program for public health initiatives provides donations and discounts so programs can assess the benefits of intraoral cameras. Pilot partnerships between MouthWatch and public health programs are also extending access to dental care with MouthWatch's teledentistry solution, TeleDent. Contact MouthWatch at mouthwatch.com or by calling 877-544-4343 to schedule a free consultation for your public health initiative.