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News: WCCP’s Tooth Ferry Receives Maine Health Access Foundation Grant

Teresa Alley, Oral Health Coordinator, welcomes children onto the Tooth Ferry truck.
(click photo to view larger)

This News was submitted: October 1, 2009

The goal of the Washington County Children’s Program’s (WCCP) Oral Health Program is to decrease dental disease among children and youth who reside in Washington County.  In 2003, the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) funded the creation of the “Tooth Ferry”, the first made in Maine mobile dental unit to help in realizing that goal.  Oral Health Coordinators Teresa Alley and Sherri Camick, work with over 2400 children every year in a variety of settings such as schools, preschools, and Head Start centers. 

WCCP’s role of providing preventive oral health services to many of Washington County’s children’s can be challenging.  With increasing numbers of schools participating with the program, it can be difficult to keep track of everyone seen.  Alley explains, “one year, I may see a Pre-Kindergarten student in a school and observe possible decay in a tooth, and then in 3 years, I see that same child as a second grader.  Currently, I have no easy way of tracking if that child was able to access restorative services from a dentist and evaluate their overall oral health compared to when I initially visited them. I have paper records that I can review, but they are not accessible to me on the ‘Tooth Ferry’ while I’m at that child’s school.” 

That is where the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) comes into the picture again. MeHAF is Maine's largest health care foundation which seeks to support programs to expand access to health care (particularly for people who are uninsured and medically underserved) and improve the health of all Maine residents.  MeHAF has generously granted funds for WCCP’s Oral Health Program to purchase a computer and software to track patients.  “The Dentrix Enterprise GURU will replace handwritten charts and filing, with a comprehensive tracking program designed for the work we do, allowing for accurate data collection and tracking effectiveness of care,” says Alley.

“We maintain that prevention is the most practical strategy to combat the problem of dental disease.  Studies suggest that every dollar spent on prevention care saves $8 to $50 on restorative treatment,” says Elaine Cale, WCCP’s Executive Director.  Nearly 800 children, who may not have otherwise accessed preventative care, received clinical services on board the Tooth Ferry in 2008.