Free youth dental care brightens smiles across Pierce County
At a glance
- Twenty organizations across Pierce County teaming up to increase dental care access
- Children from low-income families twice as likely to have cavities
- Dental Resource Day provides free pediatric preventive dental care, resources for families
More than half of U.S. children have a cavity in their primary (“baby”) teeth by age 8. What’s more, children from low-income families are twice as likely to have cavities as children from higher-income families, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Many of those issues are preventable with regular dental care. This care is a crucial component of a child’s overall health, but one that’s often missing.
“There is a tremendous access problem for people who are uninsured and people who have Medicaid (Apple Health),” says Karen Lewis, senior program officer for Arcora Foundation. “Almost 50 percent of kids and 70 percent of adults with Apple Health are not getting annual preventive care services.”
Access to oral health care affects a person’s overall health and quality of life. That’s why MultiCare has teamed up with the Pierce County Local Impact Network, whose mission over the next 5-8 years is to address oral health disparities.
Together with Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and Arcora Foundation, the network is comprised of 60 individuals from 20 organizations in Pierce County working together to increase access to oral health care.
Biweekly throughout summer, community partners come together to host Dental Resource Day, a free preventive dental care clinic for children. Once a month, the clinic also serves adults with urgent dental needs. Held at the Sumner Community Food Bank, the resource day brings care into the community as well as connections and resources for long-term solutions.
Danielle Herron and her family visited the clinic for cleanings and preventive care.
Danielle Herron visited the clinic with her children for cleanings and preventive care. They recently moved to the area and haven’t yet found a local dentist. Herron knows dental health impacts overall health and leapt at the opportunity to get her kids screened.
“The staff was so nice and informational about what is going on with my children’s teeth,” says Herron. “This is a wonderful resource for the community.”
Maria Guillen was visiting the food bank with her son when she came across the clinic. For her family, accessing dental care can be difficult and expensive. The ease and convenience of having a clinic available in a place the family receives other services takes away some of the stress and hurdles associated with maintaining regular dental care, she says.
“Sometimes it’s easier for us to get into the community than it is for some members of the community to come to us,” says Eileen Kurzhal, a dental hygienist with Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children. “By offering these preventive services, we can save these families valuable time and energy and resources.”
These resource days are truly an example of MultiCare’s mission — partnering for healing and a healthy future — put into action.
“All of our partners recognize the need for this type of service, and that none of us can achieve this alone,” says Laureen Tomich, manager of clinical integration for Elevate Health. “Together, we make a difference.”
At the dental resource days, patients are not only seen by providers from Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children, but also introduced to other services and partners that can provide stable, long-term care solutions.
DentistLink connects patients seen at the clinic to a dental home that accepts Medicaid, while SeaMar helps families navigate insurance options and additional resources. Aging and Disability Resource Centers connects families to other resources such as housing and transportation, and the Sumner Community Food Bank helps address food security and builds community connections.
These services help ensure MultiCare provides access to wraparound care to address the needs of our communities.
“When we talk about the whole health of an individual, we have to consider all of these aspects, including oral health, as part of that,” says Nicolette Slaughter, community engagement manager at MultiCare. “These events address so many aspects of equity and access to care while creating connections to give families long-term solutions.”
That’s the vision the Pierce County Local Impact Network, Arcora Foundation and MultiCare shared when the idea for these clinics was born.
“It’s apparent how grateful people are to have access to this free care,” says Lewis of Arcora Foundation. “So many people are living with dental issues that impact so many aspects of their life. Dental care is absolutely critical.”
The partnership also hosts monthly dental clinics with Medical Teams International to serve adults with urgent dental needs. MultiCare and Medical Teams also provide free mobile dental clinics at MultiCare sites throughout Puget Sound.
“Partnering for healing and a healthy future” is MultiCare’s mission, and it inspires us to form connections that help improve the quality of life for our communities. Community organizations all around us are doing amazing work, and we’re inspired and excited to support that work.
Stories from our Community is an ongoing series conceived to dive into some of these organizations*, bring their stories to life and spread the word about how they are making our communities better.
*Some of the organizations profiled in this series are recipients of MultiCare’s Community Partnership Fund, which awards funds to nonprofit organizations working on initiatives, programs and projects that improve our community.
