Celebrating Children's Dental Health Month

February 21, 2001

The Children’s Aid Society and Columbia University Launch New Mobile Dental Van to Treat Underserved Children

NEW YORK, February 21, 2001 - In a collaborative effort, the Columbia University Community DentCare Network and The Children's Aid Society (CAS) will launch a new mobile dental van, designed to bring comprehensive diagnostic, preventive and restorative dental care to children in low-income neighborhoods of northern Manhattan, including Washington Heights- Inwood and Harlem. The ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place on Wednesday, February 21st at 9:30 a.m. at the North Presbyterian Head Start Center, 531 West 155th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

The new 38-foot long, state-of-the-art dental van will travel to Head Start, family day care and elementary school programs to provide onsite dental services to underserved children. During the summer months, the van will also offer dental services to seniors and other special populations in upper Manhattan. The new van features two dental chairs and two attending dentists at all times. Dr. Elvir Dincer, who has practiced on a CAS mobile van for over ten years, will staff the new unit joined by a dentist from the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery. The new van will replace the CAS unit.

Dr. Allan Formicola, Dean of the Columbia University School of Dentistry and Oral Surgery states that, "Oral health is integral to general health. The Mobile Dental Van, operated in partnership with The Children's Aid Society, presents us with a real opportunity to make a difference in the health of thousands of children. Since dental care is often sacrificed by low-income, uninsured families, we are closing a critical gap in their health care."

"We are very excited about this new collaboration with Columbia University, which will help us reach more young patients, over 4,500 per year, in underserved areas where comprehensive dental services are scarce," said Philip Coltoff, Executive Director of The Children's Aid Society. "Both Columbia University and Children's Aid have been expanding efforts to bring more health services to children in these communities."

Need for Care is Urgent
The mobile van was designed to go beyond the routine screenings and referrals offered by other dental van programs, which often do not result in follow up care, and provide complete dental services. This mobile dental van responds to the serious lack of dental care among the city's most disadvantaged families. A report issued last spring by the U.S. General Accounting Office (G.A.O.) confirms the urgency of this need and the implications for poor children:

• Poor children had five times more untreated dental decay than children in higher income families.
• Nearly one in three children ages 2-5, with family incomes below $10,000, had at least one decayed tooth that had not been treated.
• Children in the lowest income group reported 16 "restricted activity days" or missed days at school per 100 days because of dental problems compared to just one for children with family incomes above $35,000.

These facts are vividly illustrated each and every day on the van. Most of the children who visit the van have had little or no access to dental care and this is often their first encounter with a dentist. Of the children who visit the van for the first time, the dentists typically see not just one, but multiple decayed teeth. A distressingly high number have more serious problems, including "Baby Bottle Syndrome," which leads to blackened, decayed front teeth in children as young as three and four.

If untreated, the problems worsen. "One teenager I treated was seeing a doctor for anemia. He was taking all sorts of iron pills but they weren't helping," recalls Dr. Dincer. "When I examined him, I saw that he had 10 severe cavities. He wasn't eating because it hurt so much."

Mission Stresses Preventive Care
The mobile dental unit is devoted to providing emergency dental treatment as well as ongoing preventive care. In addition to providing cleanings, fluoride treatments and fillings, the dentists stress good oral hygiene and healthful eating habits to young children, training parents in preventive care and proper dental hygiene and helping children establish the habit of seeing a dentist every six months. The mobile dental van helps children retain these habits. When the van arrives at a childcare center or school, the onsite staff escorts the children directly to the unit, therefore parents do not have to lose wages or take time off for dental appointments. This ensures that the children regularly receive the critical dental services they need.

The mobile van is designed to be interesting and fun for kids. The bright white and blue van, built by Midwest Mobile Technologies of Ohio, is adorned with the Columbia University and CAS logos and features a soothing light blue interior. A festive dinosaur border runs throughout the entire van to keep young people entertained. The waiting area also has coloring books and videos that reinforce good oral hygiene. The van is specially equipped with the latest dental technology and includes a new lift, which will allow the dentists to serve youngsters in wheelchairs. In addition, an outreach worker will also be available to help families enroll in free or low cost health insurance.

The Columbia University Community DentCare Network is a collaboration between the Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery, Harlem Hospital Dental Service, and community-based organizations in the Washington Heights-Inwood and Harlem communities. The Network is made up of school-based clinics and multi-disciplinary primary care practices.

The Children's Aid Society was founded in 1853. It is one of the nation's oldest and largest non-sectarian agencies, serving over 120,000 of New York's neediest children and their families with a network of services that include community schools, neighborhood centers, camps, adoption and foster care services, teen pregnancy prevention, education, health and recreation.