Our Great Partnership with the ODF
By Melissa Reese, RDH
Dental Support Manager for the Oklahoma
City Area Inter-Tribal Health Board
Great partnerships are amazing. They
provide a sense of satisfaction similar to the feeling women experience following
a victorious day of shoe shopping (not that the men reading this article will
appreciate that analogy). During the
past two years I have been blessed with the opportunity to partner with the
Oklahoma Dental Foundation to help address an issue that is both near and dear
to my heart. The Oklahoma City Area
Inter-Tribal Health Board (OCAITHB) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization,
whose mission is to unite the Tribes within the Oklahoma City service area (OCA)
to improve the health and quality of life of Native American communities
through advocacy and education with federal, state and local entities, while
maintaining Tribal sovereign rights. Currently,
we have greater than 335,000 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people
in our service area, which consists of the 43 federally recognized tribes in
Oklahoma and portions of Kansas and Texas.
Many people are unaware that AI/AN
children experience Early Childhood Caries rates that are 400 times higher than
any other U.S. race. 33% of AI/AN preschool children living within
the OCA have tooth decay experience, 26% have untreated decay, 7% have urgent
treatment needs, and 9% of children have decay by 1 year of age. A
large portion of our patients live in areas with low or no access to oral
health care services, making the partnership between the ODF and OCAITHB critical
to our mission. I’m happy to report
that since 2011, our joint efforts have provided 252 OCA AI/AN children access to
mobile dental services through various Head Start, Tribal day care, and other
school-based programs. 1,192 preventive
and therapeutic procedures have been provided at an estimated $61,902.
On a personal note, I have to say that some of my favorite days are
ones in which they need an extra set of hands on the van. I’m a Registered Dental Hygienist by trade, but
now work in a primarily administrative position. Volunteering gives me the opportunity to get
back in touch with my clinical roots, and is truly a “win-win” situation: the
kids win because they receive oral health care, and I win because it is a
gratifying experience. If you haven’t
had the opportunity to volunteer on the mobile dental van, I challenge you to
give it a try, but be careful … giving someone a smile is contagious. I am truly grateful for the partnership between
the OCAITHB and the Oklahoma Dental Foundation, and I’m excited about future collaborative
efforts.
On a final note, I would like to thank the wonderful staff at the ODF and
say, here’s to great partnerships!
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