Terminating tooth decay

By Tricia Lynn Strader / Journal Staff Writer

Dr. Lisa Dunn, dentist and director of Dental Health Programs, sits with Mojo Monkey in her office at the Robert C. Byrd WVU Health Sciences Center Eastern Division. The puppet helps young patients relax before sitting in the dentist’s chair. (Journal photo by Martin B. Cherry)

MARTINSBURG — According to a 2003 study by the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health, more than 10,000 children in the Eastern Panhandle do not see a dentist for preventive or maintenance care.

Therefore, the WVU Health Sciences Center Eastern Division and Eastern Panhandle Health and Human Services Collaborative joined forces to create an initiative to remedy this gap.

In February 2006, the Eastern Panhandle Oral Health Task Force formed. Overseen by WVU Health Sciences Division and Shenandoah Valley Medical Center as the administrative branch, the task force includes representatives from dental community, education community, county offices, Head Start and Womens Infant and Childrens Feeding Program members and other non-profit agencies.

“The Collaborative did its own study and concluded oral health was one of the biggest needs in the area,” says Dr. Lisa Dunn, a dentist and director of Dental Health Programs for the task force. “And the Health Sciences Center did a joint symposium with dental and medical providers. They came to the same conclusion.”

She says there is not enough access to oral care for many residents, especially children and Medicaid recipients.

“The Bureau of Public Health recommends one dentist to every 2,000 people,” continues Dunn. “We are at a shortage of dentists. Here in the Panhandle, it is one to 4,000 people. So, the task force formed to see what could be done.”

Dunn says the task force knew they had to act immediately. One of the first steps was to apply for a small planning grant from the Claude W. Benedum Foundation. The task force won the grant. The West Virginia Bureau of Public Health submitted a federal grant application on the task force’s behalf to hire a dentist; however, that application was turned down.

“Our problem is that we are seen as a wealthy area,” Dunn says. “It makes it twice as hard to get funding for programs. And when we have people in low economic stations to start with, or below poverty level, it is worse than being below the poverty level in other parts of the state.”

Dunn says the Bureau of Public Health usually offers oral health programs in the schools. According to Dunn, the programs are in all of the state’s counties except for the Eastern Panhandle “because no one in this area was willing to do it for the minimal salary. Our task force will implement that program.”

The WVU Health Sciences Center stepped up to hire Dunn last December as director. She had had her own practice, and spent 15 years working with public health promotions at the Jefferson County Health Department.

On March 14, 2007, they received a grant from the Benedum foundation that will pay for Dunn’s salary one year, as well as hiring a hygienist, and securing supplies and equipment.

“My role is prevention,” Dunn says. “A lot of kids have teeth that need attention but need to start early with prevention. As we grow, I’ll work with the county schools, Head Start and WIC. I’ll go out to schools to do screenings, cleanings and fluoride treatments, as well as educational programs.”

The task force is still in the early stages of development, but they want to get the word out. The Bureau of Public Health gave them a portable dental chair worth $10,000 for a mobile clinic.

Their second main goal is training physicians about oral health. “Oral health is connected to total body health, but people don’t realize it,” Dunn says. “A U.S. Surgeon General report stated that dental diseases are the most prevalent childhood diseases, but almost 100 percent preventable. If they don’t take care of their mouth, they can get infections that could go to the brain and kill them. That was just in the news recently. A boy died from a brain infection that started in his mouth. A little prevention can save lives.”

The long-term goal is a restorative clinic. “We can do screenings in the schools and send letters home to parents that their children’s teeth need attention,” she says. “But if there aren’t enough dentists here to start with, and they don’t know where to turn, we want to have a referral system and clinic.”

—Staff writer Tricia Lynn Strader can be reached at journal_reporter@juno.com