“I’d like to see the pediatric clinic full every morning with CHOMP patients,” Veselicky said. The Oral Health Initiative will also help the School of Dentistry establish new programs to support the efforts of oral health educators in the state, create an online community and educational resources, and collect data about the efficacy of oral health programs. Veselicky said the school will partner with WVU’s Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism to help develop a public education campaign that would encourage parents to take their children to the dentist before their first birthday, to use fluoridated water, to cut down on foods that are high in sugar, and more. “Dental decay is the number one chronic disease in humans,” Veselicky said. “We really need to do something about that.”
Volunteer Projects Beyond the classroom and the educational opportunities provided by WVRHEP, students and faculty of the School of Dentistry take oral health outreach one step further through a variety of volunteer projects.
“The MOM Projects brought attention to the great need for oral health care services in our state,” she said. “But they are not long term solutions. Many people who stood in line were turned away. Others, especially the medically compromised patients, could not stand in line to be seen. The MOM Project does not give people a dental home.”
“Students need to be exposed to other populations, and the athletes who participate in the Special Olympics make up a special population with special oral health needs,” Dr. Meckstroth said. “I want our students to think about how to reach out and meet the needs of this population.”
In the Eastern Panhandle, the MOM Project led to the opening of the new Healthy Smiles Dental Clinic in Martinsburg in late 2009. The clinic offers dental care on a sliding fee scale, making it much more affordable. Volunteers also bring oral health services to the West Virginia Special Olympics. Richard Meckstroth, DDS, chair of dental practice and rural health, rounds up 25-30 volunteers to participate in the Special Smiles program, which provides dental screenings, oral health information, and proper brushing and flossing instructions to the athletes who participate in the games.
The 2008 Orna Shanley Prize for Enhancing Access to Care was awarded to the WVU School of Dentistry. The prize recognizes academic dental institutions and their innovative approaches to addressing access to care issues. It is sponsored by The American Dental Education Association and the International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations.
Take, for example, the Mission of Mercy (MOM) Project. Launched in the summer of 2008 in the Eastern Panhandle, the MOM Project provides exams, X-rays, cleanings, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, root canals, and denture services to underserved patients. In the first year, more than 1,100 patients crowded a giant temporary dental clinic in Hedgesville. Forty-seven students and faculty from the School of Dentistry volunteered their time for the event. The next year, the MOM Project expanded to two locations—Hedgesville and Parkersburg—and more than doubled the number of patients. Some stood in line all night to receive care. Many of them, Veselicky said, cried tears of joy in appreciation for receiving dental services.
Volunteers from the WVU School of Dentistry saw more than 1,200 patients at the temporary dental clinic set up at Hedgesville High School as part of the Mission of Mercy Project in June 2009.
Spring 2010 | 13