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UNIVERSITY CONTINUES SUPPORT OF
SEALANT PROJECT
For the fourth time, the USCSD
Sealant Project has received grant support from USC
Neighborhood Outreach. The university program, which draws
upon funds donated through the Good Neighbors campaign, has
awarded $39,544 toward the purchase of equipment for a second
neighborhood mobile clinic.
Funding for construction of the
new vehicle will come from donations made by alumni and
friends of the School of Dentistry. Operational support is
provided by L.A. Care and Proctor & Gamble.
The Sealant Project, now in its
second decade, provides free oral exams, hygiene instruction,
teeth cleanings, fluoride treatment and dental sealants to
schoolchildren who attend the eight USC partner schools.
Services are provided by
doctoral dental students under the supervision of program
director and faculty member Jennifer Holtzman. One full-time
staff member provides administrative support.
This second mobile clinic will work in tandem with the school’s
first neighborhood mobile clinic, the “Annie”, built in
2002. Together they will provide six dental chairs to service
over 1,200 second- and third-graders per year.
In addition, parents will
receive oral hygiene instruction and be encouraged to sign up
for Denti-Cal or Health Families if they lack insurance
coverage.
According to Charles Goldstein,
director of community health programs for the School of
Dentistry, reaching these children at this particular age is
extremely important.
“Usually kids get their first
molars around the age of six or seven,” says Goldstein. “That’s
the most commonly lost permanent tooth. Most of the parents
don’t even realize that it’s a permanent tooth, it’s
hidden behind all those baby teeth.”
Sealing the first molar shortly
after it erupts protects the tooth from harmful bacteria that
create dental caries. Caries infections can lead to the loss
of tooth structure.
Losing a first molar
prematurely can lead to orthodontic problems when second and
third molars erupt five or six years later. This can carry a
heavy price tag. Over the course of an entire life, one can
expect to spend several thousand of dollars as a result of the
missing dentition.
Goldstein believes programs
like the Sealant Project can mitigate this expense and
suffering.
“Once we clean their teeth,
give them fluoride, sealants and oral hygiene instruction,
they hold up very well. Kids don’t ever have to have any
cavities,” says Goldstein.
The new mobile clinic is being
custom built to Goldstein’s specifications. He hopes to have
it in-service by Christmas 2003.
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