HomeMy WebLinkAboutWashington Dental Service Foundation"®r T F I NGELES
A-
WASH I N G T O N, U.S.A.
City Council
July 5, 2016
Chad Lennox
Washington Dental Service Foundation
9706 4"' Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98115-2157
RE: Increased SmileMobile Visits
Dear Mr. Lennox,
Each year the SmileMobile visits our schools, bringing much-needed oral health services to low
income children that have limited access to dental care. The services that the SmileMobile brings to
our rural convnunity are invaluable to families who don't have the resources to provide for a child's
oral health care needs. Thank you for the compassionate care you provide our kids.
I reach out to you today on behalf of the Port Angeles City Council, respectfully requesting that the
SmileMobile increase its calls on our community. We are grateful for the professional outreach that
you provide, but there are still children in need of services ranging from examinations and
preventative care to fillings and minor oral surgery — all of which you provide at little or no cost to the
patient. Increased visits to Port Angeles Schools and to the Head Start Program would greatly benefit
the children in our community.
The educational outreach that the SmileMobile shares with our local children provides them with the
tools they need to better care for their teeth, and your services can save them from painful dental issues
that if left untreated can result in lifelong problems. Because there are a limited number of dentists in
Port Angeles who accept Medicare patients, some members of our community find it necessary to
make long-distance trips to dental offices off of the Peninsula. This can be a hardship for families. The
SmileMobile helps those families care for the oral health needs of their children without missing work
or incurring travel expenses. We thank you for all the good work you've done in our community, and
we hope to see you more often!
Patrick Downie
Mayor
cc: Karri Amundson
Emily Firman
Phone: 360-417-4500 / Fax: 360-417-4509 / TTY: 360-417-4645
Website: www.cityofpa.us / mall: council@cityofpa.us
321 East Fifth Street - P.O. Box 1150 / Port Angeles, WA 98362-0217
CITY C1 T .T ANuELES
Patrick Downie, Mayor ri
City of Port Angeles
321 E 5`" Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Dear Mayor Downie,
Thank you for your letter dated July 5, 2016 requesting the SmileMobile increase its visits to Port Angeles. As I
have communicated to you previously, when considering investments throughout our state, our Foundation's Board
examines the potential for the intervention to make a significant, positive impact for as many people as possible,
especially those most at risk for oral disease, and will sustain over time.
Clallam County has one of the lowest rates for Medicaid -insured children and adults accessing dental care in the
state (26% vs. 36% for all ages, 39% vs. 54% for children).To increase the availability of affordable oral health
services for low-income people in Clallam County, the Washington Dental Service Foundation (WDS Foundation) is
and will continue to invest in the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry Program, assistance to the VIMO non-profit
dental clinic, and partnership with the Olympic Medical Center to train and support medical providers to address oral
health during medical visits. In addition, our SmileMobile mobile dental clinic will spend almost a quarter of its
clinic days providing dental care to low income children and adults in Clallam and Jefferson Counties in 2016;
including providing two full weeks of care in February and March.
These efforts should produce improvements in access however they are long-term approaches and just one part of the
solution. The most clinically and cost effective means to improve oral health is Community Water Fluoridation
(CWF). Other fluoride delivery programs (such as fluoride supplements for children, fluoride rinse or tooth brushing
in schools) do not have the reach as they miss important components of the population (like seniors) and do not
sustain over time. In studies, school-based fluoride programs have not shown consistent results for reducing
cavities. Other strategies for reaching the public with the benefits of fluoride frankly do not even come close to its
impact.
WDS Foundation invested approximately $600,000 in fluoridation equipment and defending the City against
lawsuits. It is disappointing that the community is not currently benefiting from this significant investmenta
benefit that people from many other Washington and US cities have. WDS Foundation will.not pull out of Clallam
County or Port Angeles. We are committed in improving the health of your residents and will continue to invest in
the health of Clallam County's residents including bringing the SmileMobile back to Port Angeles September 12-16,
2016. However, you Mayor Downie and the Port Angeles City Council have the power to improve the health of
your residents now and for the long-term by returning fluoridation to your city's water supply.
Diane Oakes
President and CEO
Enclosure.
SMILEMOBILE SCHEDULE 2016 (subject to change)
The SmileMobile is a fully -equipped 3 chair (user friendly for left handed dentists)
mobile dental clinic that travels the state year-round providing dental care to children
from low-income families.
The SmileMobile is recruiting volunteers, including dentists, hygienists and dental
assistants, for all sites. Up to 7 CDE's are available to dentists and up to 5 CDE's
for hygienists volunteering on the SmileMobile. Please contact Karri Amundson 206.528.7339 or
kamundson@deltadentalwa.com
June
6 —10
Brinnon
June
20-24
Quilcene
June
27 — July 1
Port Townsend
July
5-8
Port Townsend
July
11 —15
Lacey
July
18-22
Lacey
July
25-29
Chimacum
August
1 —5
Chimacum
August
8-12
Forks
August
15-19
Forks
August
22 —26
Sequim
September
12-16
Port Angeles
September
19-23
Joyce
September
26-30
Nespelem
October
3-7
Newport
October
10-13
Pullman
October
14-16
Spokane
October
17-21
Clarkston
October
31 — Nov. 4
Long Beach
November
14-18
Port Townsend
November
21 —23
Shelton
November
28 — Dec. 2
Shelton
December
5-9
Shelton
December
12-16
Shelton
Washington Dental Service
Foundation Seattle Children's
Community Advocates for Oral Health HOSPITAL e RESEARCH • FOUNDATION