MaTaya Fairbanks appears ready for her dental checkup at Grand Marais Family Dentistry. The North Shore Health Care Foundation has created an Oral Health Task Force that is making it possible for all Cook County youths through age 18 to receive both dental exams and treatment as needed regardless of their families’ financial situations.
Paul Nelson, treasurer of the North Shore Health Care Foundation, is passionate about making sure kids get the dental care they need. According to Dr. Alyssa Hedstrom of Grand Marais Family Dentistry, he has “pulled all the right people to the table” to create a program that will catch children who have been falling through dental care cracks.
With the support of the foundation, some grants, and the assistance of a task force of health care officials from numerous organizations including the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Cook County Public Health & Human Services, and Grand Portage Health Services, a new program is providing a way for all Cook County children to have dental screenings and then get the preventive care and restorative work they need, no matter what their families’ financial situations are.
Dr. Alyssa Hedstrom of Grand Marais Family Dentistry has partnered with the foundation to make sure kids get what they need—even if it’s at a dental office other than her own.
“We want to bring oral health care to every child in Cook County and Grand Portage Reservation from 18 months to 18 years,” she said.
Getting services to the kids
One of the biggest obstacles to offering help was identifying the kids. Hedstrom has been offering dental office tours for preschools and daycares in which children get a brief screening, a fluoride varnish, and X-rays with parents’ permission—all for free. With this new initiative, Sawtooth Elementary School has now started including dental screenings along with vision and hearing screenings, and plans include screening middle and high school students in the future.
Dr. Hedstrom has also seen all the kids at Great Expectations and Birch Grove charter schools. Head Start and Oshki Ogimaag Charter School in Grand Portage already have a dental care program that provides screenings, and the Oral Health Task Force is working with them to offer follow-up dental treatments as needed. The task force is hoping parents of children being home schooled or not old enough to attend school will also take advantage of this program.
Parents will be notified in advance when their kids have an opportunity to be screened at school and can opt out if they want. If a child needs dental work or more diagnosis, a letter will be sent home to the parents.
Breaking down the barriers
Getting care for children is not always a financial issue, Hedstrom said. Some parents are afraid going to the dentist will be a bad experience for their kids. Dentistry is different from what it used to be, she said, and going to the dentist often and getting things fixed early is less painful than avoiding dental care.
Comprehensive checkups, cleanings, X-rays, fluoride treatments, and sealants are covered in full at Grand Marais Family Dentistry for families who are on the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic sliding fee scale, and restorative work such as fillings are covered by Minnesota Health Care Plans and the Indian Health Service. Some parents make too much money to qualify for Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s sliding fee scale, however, but don’t have enough money to pay for dental care. Others have insurance but don’t have the money to pay the deductible before insurance kicks in. The Oral Health Task Force came up with a sliding fee scale for restorative dental care for youth that is much more generous than Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s, and for those who don’t qualify for the clinic’s sliding fee scale, it covers preventive care as well. It is available to families regardless of whether they are already insured. For example, a family of four with an income at or below $44,701 only pays 5 percent of the charge. A family of four making $59,453 to $74,614 still only pays 50 percent of the charge.
Dr. Hedstrom does not charge a fee for the dental screenings.
Why dental care is important for kids
“Oral health affects your entire health,” Nelson said.
For better or worse, in this society, Dr. Hedstrom said, people perceive white, straight teeth as a sign of health and higher socioeconomic status. Parents do their children a favor by making sure their teeth are healthy, she said. With people living longer than they used to, she said, “kids age six are getting adult molars that they should have when they die in their 90s.”
Fixing cavities in baby teeth can be important, Dr. Hedstrom said, especially if they won’t be coming out soon. Baby teeth hold spots for adult molars, and adult teeth might not have the right spaces available if baby teeth have come out too early, she said. Decayed baby teeth can also hurt adult teeth as they are forming. “Decay is a bacterial infection just like any other bacterial infection,” she said. Children can have both baby teeth and adult teeth in their mouths for years. Dr. Hedstrom doesn’t necessarily fill decayed baby teeth that would naturally be falling out soon.
Upcoming event
September 28 is going to be “Free Day at the Dentist” at Grand Marais Family Dentistry. Kids will be able to get a checkup, X-rays, a cleaning, a fluoride treatment, and sealants as needed.
Dental office staff and Oral Health Care Task Force representatives will be on hand to talk to parents about how they can afford to get any restorative care their children might need. They will make it possible for families to get the work done even if they already have big bills at the clinic or dental office, Dr. Hedstrom said.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for the parent to get dental care for their child,” said Nelson. “We’ve got to take care of the kids.” Financial support for this program has been provided by the North Shore Health Care Program, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Grand Marais Family Dentistry, the Carlton-Cook- Lake-St. Louis Community Health Board, the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, and the Atkins Memorial Fund.
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