Thanks to the Tooth Ferry, smiles at Durham elementary schools have been getting a little bigger lately. The mobile dental treatment unit, contained in a van, offers simple dental procedures during the day to low-income children in kindergarten through fourth grade.
"It is a win-win-win situation," said Brian Letourneau, director of the Durham County Health Department, which jointly sponsored the initiative with Duke University Health System and Durham Public Schools.
"The Health Department is improving the quality of dental hygiene in Durham, Duke is interacting and offering services to the community and students are receiving quality dental attention. With this program, everyone benefits," Letourneau said.
Letourneau said that since the Tooth Ferry's inception in August, about 1,000 procedures have been performed.
The van is currently staffed by four people--a driver/receptionist, a dentist and two dental assistants--who were hired by the Health Department. Facility funding is provided by the Duke Foundation.
Letourneau said this type of facility has been sorely needed. "The lower-income population has historically had a high no-show rate [at dentists]," he said. "With the Tooth Ferry, we are able to pull students out of school instead of making their parents schedule time to take them to the dentist."
Ferry services are not free--fees vary depending on the dental procedure performed and the student's income level. If the student receives federal aid, officials bill Medicaid.
Health Department officials plan to break even on their investment through Medicaid reimbursements.
Parental consent is required before children can be treated at the Tooth Ferry, but Dr. Miriam McIntosh, director of the dental division for the Health Department, said this has not deterred students.
"Children are knocking each other down to get on the van," McIntosh said with a chuckle.
Letourneau said one student even faked a cavity to visit the van.
Elementary schools have received positive feedback from parents as well. Darlene Hampton, a family facilitator at Eastway Elementary School, said some parents even accompanied their children to the van.
Depending on the availability of funds, more schools and vans may be added in the future. Patty Darragh, program manager of Duke's Division of Community Health, said the program will require another van to provide sufficient care for all the children who require dental attention.
The motivation for developing the Tooth Ferry program arose when Duke School of Nursing programmers noticed that many of the students seen at their school-based clinics were in need of dental attention.
"This idea germinated two-and-a-half years ago, but large projects like this take time to implement," Letourneau said.
"The van has been very successful and very busy. Pardon the pun, but students have taken a real shine to it," he said.
The Ferry has already visited W.G. Pearson Elementary Lab and Eastway Elementary Schools. It is currently treating students at Fayetteville Elementary, and will be at Y.E. Smith Elementary next month. The van will repeat the monthly rotation in January, and officials hope to add two more schools to the schedule.
In the meantime, Darragh hopes the van's success will continue. "It is great to know we can get things done as a community," she said. "The best part is getting smiles from the kids."
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