Bringing tooth care to local schools

“Sometimes kids are a little scared of the dentist, and it’s fun for us. It mixes it up a little bit,” Cynthia Valdovinos told the girl, Mia (not her real name).

Valdovinos assisted Silvanna Marqez, a registered hygienist. Both are from the health clinic One Community Health, based in Hood River and The Dalles.

At one point, they handed Mia a mirror so she could watch them work.

OCH’s school-based dental screening program is in its third year. Kids are excused from class for a brief examination by the dental specialists, who might apply sealants on the molars as well as review dental hygiene practices with the kids “and catch problems as they arise,” Marquez said.

With calm voices and gentle hands, they are able to calm the occasional nervous child, but Marquez said, “overall, the kids do great. We’ve been coming for three years, so they know us and what to expect.”

Mia started to get a little nervous at one point, a feeling Marquez quelled by reminding her, “You can keep watching with the mirror if you want.”

Marquez and Valdovinos saw about 85 kids this week and last at May Street, based on permission forms returned to the schools. OCH visits all schools in the Hood River County School District under the program.

“It’s a lot of fun, and it was fun for Cynthia, since she attended May Street as a child, and I grew up in the community,” Marquez said. “Coming to school is fun and being out in the community is great. We see a lot of people we know.”

They set up in a classroom used for multiple instruction needs, bringing their own equipment, including portable chair, multiple eye coverings for the kids to choose from, dental compressor and boxes of supplies. At the end of each session, students can choose a pencil or an egg-timer, and once the OCH workers have completed treatment or consultation, each name is marked with a tooth sticker.