Kensington: Traveling Miles to Improve Kids Smiles

By peering closely into Isaiah Dockery’s mouth, one can clearly spot the small and circular milky, white dots that stain his top row of teeth. At just three years old the child has unknowingly compromised his enamel growth by swallowing too much fluoride and using toothpaste meant for adults.

“I didn’t know he couldn’t just use mine,” says his mom Gina Dockery, 25, as she browses the toothpaste aisle at a Shop Rite supermarket, trying to decide between tubes of SpongeBob Colgate and Spiderman Crest. “We finally got an appointment with the dentist and he said there could be some decay.”

Dockery’s son is covered by Medicaid insurance but finding a dentist that will accept it, she says, is a difficult process. For now her son’s tooth discoloration is a problem Dockery is working to correct, but it is one that could have been avoided.

At St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children in Kensington, coordinators of the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program are working to do just that.  Volunteers travel around the city in a custom-made RV providing oral health care to neighborhoods that need it most, where children’s smiles might not be so healthy. Open to children whose families cannot afford to pay for dental care, the program helps approximately 2,500 kids for free each year.

Judy Gelinas, program manager for Mobile Oral Health Services, says that dental care can often be expensive for families lacking dental insurance so many do no seek oral care services unless a child is in pain or their ability to eat is affected. “By the time we see a child at three years old, over 40 percent of them already have decay,” she says. “If the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile wasn’t in operation, I think a lot of them wouldn’t be identified. There would be a lot of children who didn’t get to the dentist.”

The negative impact of poor dental health in children is clear. According to the Centers for Disease Control tooth decay is one of the most common childhood diseases, which if left untreated can cause pain and infections that may lead to other problems associated with eating, learning and interacting. The Office of the Attorney General reports that children and adolescents living at or below the poverty line suffer twice as much tooth decay as those living above it. The latest census report recorded the poverty rate in Philadelphia at 22.9 percent.

The Care Mobile has a full-time dentist who wants to reduce the number of children with dental troubles. Fresh out of dental school, Dr. Anothony Kash came to work with the program two years ago.

“We get a lot of first time patients here and they can be a little nervous but I think having something as unusual as a dental office on wheels and Ronald McDonald on the side definitely helps make the first visit a little easier,” he says.

And his boyish charm doesn’t hurt. Interacting with those on the Care Mobile, Kash giggles and waves his arms around freely, creating an inviting atmosphere for patients and co-workers alike.

Dockery sees the Care Mobile as a possible alternative to frustrating care. “I think it’s a great thing that they’re doing,” she says. “Now that I know about it I’m going to make an appointment for my son as soon as possible.”