Dental Program (for ages 0 to 18)
Preventative Care and Education; Case Management as Needed
The Dental Program has a history of continually expanding to meet children's needs for oral health education and preventive care. In 1976, the Dental Program began visiting schools to provide oral health education. A toothbrush distribution program and school-administered fluoride rinse schedule rounded out the Dental Program’s activities.
In the late 1990s, the Dental Program underwent a series of expansions, thanks to grants from the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention - Maine Oral Health Program and private foundations. In 1999, one oral health coordinator/dental hygienist, was serving 10 public schools. By 2002, an additional coordinator/hygienist, was doing school visits, and the pair began gearing up to expand service further by carrying portable dental cleaning equipment around to Head Starts in their cars. The plan to acquire and equip a mobile dental unit was born of increased demand for services and a need to deliver them more efficiently. In 2003, the mobile unit was born, and was named the Tooth Ferry during a community-wide naming contest.
The Tooth Ferry
WCCP's dental hygienists provide Washington County children with preventive care and education on the Tooth Ferry mobile dental truck.
School Oral Health Program
Our dental program visits Washington County elementary schools.
Preventative Dental Hygiene Services
Good oral health is necessary for success in school and society. Our preventative services benefit each child served.
Dental Case Management
Dental Case Management is assistance for children and their families in need of further dental care.
Dental Library and Education
Storybooks, videos, and mouth & tooth models; plus, Tubs by Topic.
George Washington (and a local student in our poster contest) urges good dental care.
The Oral Health Program was honored in the Hall of Flags at the Maine State House by the Maine Health Access Foundation in spring of 2006. Here, our hygienists visit with Maine's first lady, Karen Baldacci, who stopped by our booth. The Tooth Ferry was largely funded by the Maine Health Access Foundation in 2003.