"Share the Care" Contest Nominee Spotlight: LCDA

The Latino Community Development Agency was created in 1989, the outcome of a United Way task force to address the needs of  the low-income, Latino population living in Oklahoma City. In 2005, it received its national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitative Facilities, due to their program standards and achievements.

The LCDA's mission is: "Working to enhance the quality of life in the Latino Community through education, leadership, services and advocacy."

They provide health, nutrition, treatment and prevention programs. These include HIV/AIDs support groups and testing, mentoring and support for at-risk youth and many other opportunities for all ages and stages of the Latino population to be involved.

The Oklahoma Dental Foundation has had the pleasure of working with this program since 2008, providing many days of dental education, treatment and screenings throughout the years. We even celebrated treating the 10,000th patient in our program there last September!

Here's what the nominees had to say about the LCDA:

How do you think these services would benefit the organization?

"They would help a lot. We see many children who are uninsured."


Why do you think they should win this contest?

"Because of their approach to people who really need these services."

"For many years they have helped a minority population who could not receive services."

ODF In the News

Friday, October 19 was an exciting day for our program. KFOR-TV's Lance West paid us a visit while we were at the Baptist Mission in Oklahoma City treating low-income adults. This segment aired twice that evening, and we could have asked for a better platform for our program! Lance tells the story of so many Oklahomans who are in need of care, even in metro areas, but cannot access it. In this instance, the barrier to oral health care is finances. We are so pleased we make a trip to the Baptist Mission again and help their clients improve their chance for job prospects and better, brighter futures.

We are also so grateful to our dental professional staff and volunteers who see this program and an important means to end suffering in our state. This particular day Drs. Eric Touet (Oklahoma City) and Phoebe Brown (Edmond) were able to improve the quality of life to so many. To put it simply, the visit wouldn't be possible without them, or any of our volunteers!

Because the segment aired during the evening news, our office was bombarded with phone calls and emails asking for appointments or when the mobile unit would be near them. Clearly, there is still a great need, and we are always seeking new sites to visit. If you know of a new one we should check out let us know!

We hope you'll take a minute to watch this video and share our program with those you know who may need help, or those who may be interested in volunteering their time with our program.

ODF & OUCOD impact OKC Mid-High School

What does a community engaged in overall health look like? This is the question Douglass Mid-High School in Oklahoma City asked when it brought together like-minded health groups for a meeting last spring. Among those groups were the Oklahoma Dental Foundation, and the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry’s Community Dentistry department. The school’s principal, Dr. Brian Staples, with the assistance of Sandridge Energy, wanted to develop an in-school health center to create better habits for students. Staples attributes a majority of student absences to preventable health conditions, including tooth aches and abscessed caused by severe cavities. Missed class periods for this school, a primarily low-income, African American population means missed opportunities for a better, brighter future. 

July 27, 2012 began the first step of implementing this partnership and impacting the oral health of Douglass. Several volunteers and students from the OUCOD provided dental screenings during a back to school lock-in. The screening would let parents know any problems areas the child might have, and well as, tips for brushing and flossing. About 30 screenings were done that night with the permission of parents in attendance.

The next step came on October 12, 2012 – a day of screenings for more than 150 students. Much preparation went into finding volunteer dental students, implementing a strategy as to see as many students as quickly as possible while engaging them in taking ownership of their oral health. While we had high hopes in preparation, middle and high school aged kids have a way of taking your plan and throwing it by the wayside. By 9:30 a.m. that morning, the first group of kids had come through. As anticipated, many were not interested in volunteering to be screened. The OUCOD group quickly regrouped and found a different plan of attack. Every student would receive a screening by a fourth year student, then brushing and flossing instructions would be given by first and second year dental students. When the second round of Douglass students came through, tensions eased and the screenings ran smoother. Once students were screened, their forms were generated into two piles: referrals to the mobile dental unit for further treatment, and those who didn’t need treatment. Of the 151 screenings completed that day,  83 students were referred for further dental treatment and given paperwork for their parents to authorize treatment on the Oklahoma Dental Foundation’s mobile dental unit October 29 through 31.

Sydney Sevier, senior program assistant in the OUCOD’s Community Dentistry department described the experience as eye opening and a good perspective for the dental students to have. “I think this really sparked an extra passion. They spread the word for their friends to get involved because of what a good experience they had,” Sevier said. “I think this made them realize how bad the problem is in the community.” The Community Dentistry’s overall goal is to increase the number of graduating dental students who go into community dentistry across the state.

Second year dental student Sneha Patel was shocked to hear from a middle school student receiving a screening who did not know what a cavity was. “He seemed very worried about his mouth, but didn't know how to take care of it,” Patel said. She explained to the student that the cavity was treatable and how to prevent them in the future.

Our next challenge will come October 29 when the ODF mobile dental unit and OU students return to Douglass for dental treatment. As always, parents need to authorize the proper paperwork for minors to receive dental care. We hope parents who have seen their child’s screening form take a few minutes to save their children pain and suffering over a toothache, and their pocketbooks from a trip to the emergency room.

Hot off the Presses!

It's been eight days now since we treated our 10,000th patient through the mobile dental program, and we were thrilled so many news outlets in the Oklahoma City Metro were interested in covering our milestone!

Reporters from KOCO, KFOR, KWTV, Telemundo and Journal Record were all in attendance and did a great job in capturing our program and the day's special occasion. Below are a few of the published articles.

Article from The Journal Record - Published September 7

Mobile dental unit serves 10,000th patient

By Sarah Terry-Cobo

OKLAHOMA CITY – Dafne Soto had molars extracted in the parking lot of the Latino Community Development Agency on Thursday. The 8-year-old was the 10,000th patient seen in the Oklahoma Dental Foundation’s mobile unit,  a converted recreational vehicle.

Bernice Saldana, Soto’s mother, had noticed her daughter’s cavities, but said she didn’t have dental insurance to cover the necessary treatment.

“This is a great help for us,” Saldana said in Spanish.

Saldanda’s 4-year-old son, Ricardo, was also treated at the mobile clinic on Thursday.

The Soto children are among thousands of people living in the metro area who aren’t covered by dental insurance.

Saldana said she is glad she can bring her children to get free dental care, saving her family hundreds of dollars. Even though there are 449 dentists licensed to work in Oklahoma City and 664 licensed to work in Oklahoma County, John Gladden, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Oklahoma, said many residents lack access to dental care, not just those who live in rural areas.

“It wouldn’t matter if there was a dentist on every corner,” he said. “If parents don’t take their children, they won’t go.”

Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has donated about $250,000 for the creation of the mobile dental unit, which has been in operation since 2006.

John Wilguess, executive director of the Oklahoma Dental Foundation, said that the majority of their patients have low incomes. In 2011, nearly a third of patients had a household income of $10,000 or less and about 70 percent had a household income of less than $20,000. Only 35 percent of the patients said they qualified for Medicaid, Wilguess said.

The need for the mobile dental unit is so great in the state that the Oklahoma Dental Foundation’s board has approved the purchase od a new unit tha tiwll be custom-built. Having a second unit that can travel from town to town will allow the original unit to stay in one place for several days, Wilguess said. That will allow dentists to perform follow-up visits on their patients, which are often necessary, he said. 

Article from Edmond Life & Leisure - Published September 13

Dentist from Edmomd part of Milestone

Helping the 10,000th patient

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Dental Foundation Mobile Dental Unit has provided free dental care to more than 10,000 patients as of Sept. 6. Dafne Soto, 8, of Oklahoma City was the honored 10,000th patient served on the mobile unit as it made a stop at the Latino Community Development Agency. Soto was one of eight children and youth who had an appointment for needed dental care Thursday.

The mobile dental unit travels across the state each year as part of ODF’s Mobile Dental Care Program.

“She didn’t know she was going to be the 10,000th patient,” said Berenice Saldana, Soto’s mother. “It was a surprise, but she’s happy. She enjoyed it.”

Saldana said her daughter needed care for cavities that were causing her back teeth to crumble, but Saldana is a single mother of three children and does not have insurance.

“It is very beneficial for my family to be able to come here and receive free care on the mobile dental unit,” Saldana said.

 The Oklahoma Dental Foundation began the mobile dental care program in 2006 using volunteer dentists. Since that time, Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation has supported the program with nearly $1 million in grants. Part of that funding has allowed the program to double its reach by paying for contract dentists to go to rural areas where access to care is especially low and to provide services during weekdays when volunteers are unavailable.

 “When I first began treating dental patients on the mobile unit, I thought the cost of dental care was the only barrier,” said Jeannie Bath, the dentist on site Sept. 6. “But driving out to a rural site, I think of our patients driving those same long, lonely Oklahoma roads back toward town for their needed dental care. 

“Having the ability to address urgent and potential emergency infections on the mobile dental unit, allows us to prevent patients without a dentist from seeking temporary relief for that infection in the ER.”

Celebrating 10,000 Patients!

In 2006, when the Mobile Dental Care program started down the road of serving Oklahomans in need of dental care, the idea of reaching 10,000 people was hopeful, but still far beyond the horizon. Now, just six years later, we are thrilled to celebrate treating 10,000 Oklahomans of all ages, races and income levels through our program.

As we look to the future of the program, we see exciting challenges:
• A second mobile unit currently under construction - a pipe dream less than a year ago;
• Expanding our program to all 77 counties in Oklahoma;
• New partnerships with organizations invested in creating better opportunities for Oklahomans; and
• supporting our mission to eliminate barriers to oral health care for the populations they serve - women leaving prison, the mentally ill, homeless, indigenous and at-risk populations of all ages.

Working with these groups shows most clearly just how many more people need our help and how we can better serve our fellow Oklahomans. Now, we look ahead and see great possibilities – while knowing these past six years have led us to this mile marker of success.

Dafne stands with ODF Executive Director John Wilguess,
Delta Dental of Oklahoma President & CEO John Gladden,
Dr. Jeannie Bath, and Captain Supertooth

Moving to September 6, we celebrated our 10,000th patient while at the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City. We have partnered with the LCDA for almost five years, and visited there over thirty times with our program providing screenings and treatment for their clients. We had the pleasure of treating 8-year-old Dafne Soto, our lucky 10,000th patient! Longtime volunteer Dr. Jeannie Bath (Edmond) provided treatment that day. Dafne's mother scheduled and appointment for her after seeing decay on Dafne's lower molars. Dr. Bath extracted the molars and also gave her some hygiene lessons to keep her teeth healthy! The Soto family was very grateful for the services they received through the LCDA and the Mobile Dental Unit, which saved them hundreds of dollars the low-income and non-insured family did not have. 

We see people like Dafne everyday all around Oklahoma. While we celebrated Dafne on Thursday, we know there are still many like her and the Soto family that are in need of our services. 

Dafne thanks Dr. Bath after receiving dental treatment

Obviously a huge thanks goes out to our program funders who believed in our dream from the beginning, and continue to help us expand our program. 

Mobile Unit Celebrates 10,000 Patients Sept. 6

Tomorrow we will celebrate a milestone!  On September 6, we will celebrate treating 10,000 patients (and counting) while at the Latino Community Development Agency (LCDA) in Oklahoma City.  LCDA is a longtime partner with the ODF and has hosted the mobile unit 30 times in the last several years. On board with us that day will be outstanding volunteer Dr. Jeannie Bath.  In 2008, the LCDA presented the Mobile Program with their "Organizational Guardian Angel" award for providing services to their clients. Over the years, we have frequently provided screenings and treatment to children and adults in their programs. We look forward to celebrating 10,000 patients served with our Mobile Program when we visit them tomorrow.  In the more than six years of the mobile unit’s existence, we have had the pleasure of providing over $1.7 million of charitable dentistry across the state - greatly affecting the communities we visit. Since the program's launch in April 2006, we have averaged over 1,500 patients a year, and look forward to seeing even more with our expanded program when our additional mobile unit arrives later this year.  We can't wait for tomorrow to get here and celebrate with one of our major funders, Delta Dental of Oklahoma Oral Health Foundation, the ODF staff and our wonderful volunteer Dr. Bath! Don't forget to check back for pictures of the day!