Dental care on wheels
July 22, 2008 - 11:00 AM
by Aaron Burkhalter
by Aaron Burkhalter
Dr. Jim Smith works on a patient from the Pioneer Recovery Center with help from Cascade Job Corps student Brittany Dinger Monday afternoon.
That’s the solution Pioneer Center North found for patients struggling with the painful dental problems many recovering drug addicts face at the Sedro-Woolley-based rehabilitation center.
Todd Pardue of the center’s health office said the Medical Teams International mobile dental van provides a relatively inexpensive solution to the facility’s dental needs. He wants to continue the program in 2009 if he can get the funding.
The nonprofit Medical Teams International charges $800 for once-a-month visits to the center, seeing as many as 15 patients during each trip. Pardue estimates the dental work provided by the mobile van would normally cost $3,500 to $4,000.
“This is amazing,” Pardue said. “This is two exam rooms on wheels, and they’ve got everything you could get in a dental office.
The van, staffed with two dentists and volunteer assistants, is one of three that roam Western Washington visiting facilities like Pioneer Center North or disaster sites to provide on-site dental work — such as fillings, root canals, tooth extractions and cleaning.
Pardue said the rehabilitation patients at his center suffer a lot of tooth pain because of their drug addiction, at times so much that they can’t focus on their treatment.
Dr. Ron Guderian said drug addiction, and even many naturally occurring ailments, can cause dry-mouth, which causes teeth to rot.
“Before long, you have complete dental decay,” he said.
Pardue said before the dental van, patients could use medical care coupons, but many dentists didn’t accept them. Patients who waited for treatment would often end up in the emergency room. He’s happy to say that the dental van saves the center, and by extension the taxpayers, a lot of money by treating patients early and outside of the ER.
“If we send one person to the emergency room, that ends up costing twice as much as this,” he said.
Funding is in place to pay for the van’s services through year’s end, but the center is working with the state Department of Social and Human Services to find long-term funding.
• Aaron Burkhalter can be reached at 360-416-2141 or .
