Petaluma Health Center bringing dentists to kids

Good oral hygiene is important for children, but many, especially low income children, don’t make it into the dentist’s office as frequently as recommended. Knowing this, the Petaluma Health Center wants to bring the dentist’s office to the children.

With a $300,000 grant from the John Jordan Foundation, the health center has purchased a mobile dental clinic, essentially an RV with all the trappings of a modern dental office, which will visit schools in Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Cotati beginning next school year.

“For a lot of low income kids, getting to the dental clinic is difficult,” said Pedro Toledo, chief administrative officer of the Petaluma Health Center. “Taking the services to the schools makes a lot of sense.”

Dental disease is the top chronic disease among children in Sonoma County, Toledo said, and catching dental problems while children are still young is crucial to fighting this plague of plaque. The health center is having the mobile clinic custom built in Oklahoma, and it should be delivered by summer, in time for the next school year.

The John Jordan Foundation recognized the need for this innovative healthcare tool in the south county, said Lisa Wittke Schaffner, the executive director.

“We hope this will change the dental health outcomes for families and be a model for other areas of the county and state,” she said in a statement. “The idea that providers can not only assess the needs of patients but also perform the needed services is the reason we wanted to invest. It is a big commitment for us but we hope to see great data about results, have the bus really busy and see lots of smiling faces with healthy teeth.”

The bus will come equipped with two dental chairs, a radiology machine, a dentist and dental assistants. While the John Jordan Foundation covered the cost of the mobile clinic, the health center is looking to raise $75,000 to stock it with supplies. Donations can be made at phealthcenter.org.

“For every dollar spent on preventative dental services for children, $8 to $50 is saved in restorative and emergency treatments later in life,” Toledo said.

The clinic will pull up to school campuses and perform fillings, extractions and other treatments. Patients won’t be charged for services, but the health center will bill insurance if the patient is covered.

St. Joseph Health, which operates Petaluma Valley Hospital and Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, has a similar mobile dental clinic, but uses it mostly in Sonoma and Santa Rosa, Toledo said. This will be the first of its kind dedicated to Southern Sonoma County.

“Being able to offer treatments in schools is so much easier,” Toledo said. “The goal is to make sure everyone is school-ready and every one has a healthy smile.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)