Child Dental

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According to Sound Outreach Services, “On any given night in Pierce County 2000 people experience homelessness. This number includes babies, children, teens, and adults. They are victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities, veterans, and senior citizens…Project Homeless Connect provides a starting place on the journey back to safety, stability, health, and hope. Project Homeless Connect reduces the duration of homelessness by providing services that address the basic needs; basic medical and dental care, access to education, employment and benefits systems, chemical dependency assessments, flu shots, haircuts, and much more – all under one roof!”

Please share news of this upcoming 10/26/16 event. To volunteer in the Dental Services area, contact pcds@pcdentists.org. Attendees interested in the dental services are encouraged to arrive early.

Event will be held once again at the Tacoma Armory in downtown Tacoma.

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School kids get oral health goody bags

Dental decay is a prevalent childhood disease in the USA, responsible for many missed or unfocused days in school due to pain and required treatment. Oral health is sometimes overlooked but is vitally important to a child’s development and ability to concentrate and stay in school.

To put a dent in this trend and support healthy smiles for all children in Pierce County, the Pierce County Oral Health Coalition teamed up in February to assemble over 800 oral health goody bags for kids! Using PCOHC member-donated supplies, each goody bag contained an age appropriate toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and valuable information on how to maintain great oral health and hygiene.

We delivered the bags to St. Leo’s Food Connection in Tacoma. Kevin Glackin-Coley, Executive Director at the St. Leo’s Food Connection is thrilled to be able to share these oral health items with the many 100’s of Clover Park and Tacoma school district students (K-12) who receive a nutritious weekly meal as part of St. Leo’s weekend Backpack Program.

Fortunately, dental decay is nearly 100% preventable and with the necessary tools, good hygiene is a brush and floss away. Nutrition also significantly affects dental health and hence, partnering with St. Leo’s healthy weekend food program was a natural for the oral health coalition.  Project participant organizations included Bates Technical College/Dental Assisting School, Community Health Care, Coordinated Care, Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children, Pierce County Community Connections, Pierce County Dental Society, Puget Sound ESD, SeaMar Community Health, and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department/ABCD and School Nurse programs.

Find additional information about St. Leo’s food connection programs, as well as helpful oral health resources for children:

Pierce County Oral Health Coalition: www.pcohc.org

St. Leo’s Food Connection Backpack Program: http://www.foodconnection.org/pages/backpack.htm

Access to Baby and Child Dentistry: http://www.tpchd.org/health-wellness-1/abcd-access-to-baby-child/

Pierce County Library System: http://www.piercecountylibrary.org/kids-teens/parents-caregivers/early-learning/children-oral-health.htm

National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center: http://mchoralhealth.org/toolbox/families.php

WA Dental Service Foundation: https://www.deltadentalwa.com/our-foundation/educational-materials.aspx

 

Tooth Fairy, Super Tooth and Chompy the Carrot coming to Puyallup!

Children's Dental Health Day Poster

February is Children’s Dental Health month…a fabulous time to promote oral health for all kids!

For the 25th year, the Pierce County Dental Society, with help from the Pierce County Dental Foundation and Washington Dental Service Foundation, is hosting Children’s Dental Health Day on Saturday, February 20, 2016…open to the community. The Tooth Fairy, Super Tooth and Chompy the Carrot will be joined by Pierce County dentists, Pierce County Oral Health Coalition members and others to offer FREE oral health services, information and resources, kids’ drawing contest with prizes plus other valuable and fun activities at the Puyallup South Hill Mall.

Share this event information and the gift of oral health with the families and children in your community!

Dental community provides free dental care at March 2015 Project Homeless Connect

During the Spring Project Homeless Connect (PHC), the Pierce County Dental Society and Oral Health Coalition members combined talent and services at Puyallup Fairgrounds on March 31, 2015 to provide dental care to community members in need. Participating organizations include Bates and Clover Park Technical College Dental Assisting Schools, Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children, Medical Teams International, Pierce College Dental Hygiene School, and many other private dentists.

The dental section of the event provided $30,234 in donated dental care that included screening 67 individuals and treating 23 in the dental hygiene area. The Medical Teams International dental van, with its volunteer professional dental staff, provided twenty-three patients with additional treatment.  Dental service area volunteers also referred PHC patients for follow up exams and community resources. The Pierce County Dental Society wishes to acknowledge all the oral health volunteers, partners and community resources who worked together to help those in need of dental services. Photos of some of the wonderful dental volunteers are shown below!

Planning for the next Project Homeless Connect is underway for late summer-early Fall 2015. For those interested in volunteering in the dental services area, please contact Cheryl Jenkins at pcds@pcdentists.org.

Free dental services at March 2015 Project Homeless Connect

Project Homeless Connect returns to the Washington State Fairgrounds, Puyallup  on Tuesday, March 31, 2015. As in the past, the Pierce County Dental Society, along with other Pierce County Oral Health Coalition partners, will provide much needed dental assessments and treatment triage.

Doors open 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

PCOHC members interested in helping in the dental area should email pcds@pcdentists.org.

For more information and to share with the community as appropriate, click here for the event flyer: PHC_Flyer_March_2015_WA Fair Grounds

PCOHC members deliver free dental care at youth-focused event

As part of HYPED (Homeless Youth Prevention and Empowerment Day), the Pierce County Dental Society and Oral Health Coalition members combined talent and services at Spanaway Middle School on January 24, 2015, to provide dental care with a focus on youth in our community. Participating organizations include Access to Baby and Child Dentistry, Bates and Clover Park Technical College Dental Assisting Schools, Community Health Care, Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children, Medical Teams International, Pierce College Dental Hygiene School, Puyallup Tribal Health Authority, and many other private dentists.

The dental section of the event experienced a steady stream of patients, conducting over forty screenings, eleven cleanings, and twenty-nine varnishes. The Medical Teams International dental van, with its volunteer professional dental staff, provided twenty-one patients with additional treatment.  The value of donated care was $13,710.   The Pierce County Dental Society wishes to acknowledge all the oral health volunteers, partners and community resources who worked together to help those in need of dental services.

For those interested in volunteering in the dental services area at the Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Project Homeless Connect at the Washington State Fairgrounds, please contact Cheryl Jenkins at pcds@pcdentists.org.