Mobile dental care coming to Sisters

FAN's commitment to building a healthy community has a new tool in its network of aid, and it will make its debut in Sisters in March.

Northwest Medical Teams International will bring a mobile dental unit to provide care for adults in need. The unit will set up and function in the parking lot of SOAR, adjacent to Sisters High School. The dental unit will only be in Sisters for one day, and the date has been tentatively set for March 6.

NW Medical Teams is a well established international humanitarian organization that is perhaps best known for its work in Mexico, Central and South America. However, the organization's scope is much broader, providing humanitarian services in Africa, Asia, Europe and here at home in America. "They service a broad range of medical humanitarian needs. They have done eye surgery, cleft palate and dental care," said Celia Greyson of Northwest Medical Teams.

"The Dental Unit that is based in Bend was purchased by a donation from the Jeld-Wen Corporation. At present there are four of them (mobile dental units) in Portland, one in Salem, one in Newberg. The donation from the Jeld-Wen corporation made it possible for the services to be offered in the Highway 97 corridor," said Greyson.

On March 15, Sisters Kiwanis Club is sponsoring a presentation, and the Mobile Dental Unit will be on display in Sisters. The presentation is open to the public, and it will be possible to tour the unit and find out more about NW Medical Teams. Additional information and details can be obtained by calling the Kiwanis club at 549-5694.

Sisters has not had a dental safety net for adults in need, and the mobile unit will help to solve this problem. "It is very exciting because ... one of our biggest gaps here is adult dental care. We have a great program with Kemple Dental Clinic (Kemple Children's Clinic) to get our kids dental care for free," said FAN advocate Shawna Bell.

Northwest Medical Teams Dental Unit provides dental care to those in need who would normally fall though the cracks. "They serve mostly adults with dental needs - uninsured adults. They don't have to be employed. There's no minimum income that they have to serve. They meet the federal poverty guidelines, so they would be low income - uninsured - that type of thing," Bell explained.

The gap in Sisters for providing adult dental care to those in need and without insurance or the ability to pay has been long standing. Sisters has not been visited by a mobile dental unit for several years. "I don't know the history beyond two and half years ago, but it has not been here in, at least, that amount of time, and I think it has been a little longer, if ever," Bell said.

In the past, Bell explained, it has been necessary for FAN to be resourceful in attempting to find solutions for adults. Some individuals have been sent to the Linn-Benton Community College Dental School, and on occasion others have been sent to a similar school in Hood River. However, traveling to these locations is not always an option, and often the person in need has to go door-to-door trying to find a dentist who will accept some sort of a payment plan. This is not a very satisfactory solution; "so, uninsured adults just go without dental care," Bell said.

FAN is a Deschutes County-based charity which links children and families to critical social supports with the goal of keeping children in school. Each family works with one dedicated advocate to assist with dental work, job opportunities, clothing, rent assistance, childcare support, health insurance or whatever the need.

Bell believes that many families in the Sisters community struggle to make it from day to day. Inadequate housing, hunger, physical and mental health problems and unemployment all contribute to an ongoing cycle of poverty. Central to FAN's approach is empowering families to take action to help themselves. FAN connects to the comprehensive web of services available in Deschutes County to assist those in need. As a result FAN has been extremely effective in reaching its goals of providing enough family stability to keep children in school.

The appearance of the mobile dental unit later this month will hopefully be the start of continuing support for those who need it the most.

"It will be (only) one day, but they are talking about bringing it again in May," said Bell.

For specific information about the services the mobile dental van will provide contact Bell at 549-0155.