Better Health & Living: Article: Dentists on the Move

Issue: September 2008

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Dentists on the Move

Mobile dental clinic brings services to those in need

by Cheryl Winters-Tetreau

Published in Walla Walla, WA local spotlight | 0 Comments, Talk about this article »

Keith Canwell roams a 130-mile radius around Walla Walla in a 38-foot Winnebago motor home. He’s not on a sightseeing tour, though. He’s at the helm of the Medical Teams International mobile dental clinic, housed in a sophisticated dental van that stops in towns throughout the region.

“Our mission is to provide free urgent dental care to people who lack insurance, including those with low or no income, the disabled, veterans, children, migrant workers, retirees, and the homeless,” Canwell explains.

“Our dental care is prioritized,” he says, “with priority going to dental emergencies like abscessed teeth and deep cavities that are causing pain. Our initial goal is to get people out of pain and treat infections to save their lives. When they come to us, they often haven’t slept and can’t chew food because of the pain. Children can’t function well in school because of the distraction from their dental pain.”

Another component of the mobile dental clinic is its denture work, which provides very low-cost or free dentures. “We give people their dignity back,” says Canwell, the dental clinic coordinator. “It’s hard to seek work when they have a mouth full of rotting teeth. By fitting them with dentures, we give them back their smiles. Many people have shed tears of happiness after getting the work done. That brings us a great deal of happiness, too.”

He’s able to provide the dentures because of donations, though the money usually only lasts the first six months of the year. “We stretch donated dollars as far as we can,” he says, “and we have two denturists who have cut their fees down to $200 per denture, which helps greatly.”

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Giving Back to the Community

Pat Sharkey, DMD, a Walla Walla dentist, has been volunteering in the mobile dental clinic for the eight years that it has been running. Sharkey was new to the area when a patient asked him if he would volunteer for a new dental van venture. “She gave my name to the manager at that time, Ronnie Fleck, and he bugged me for two weeks,” says Sharkey.

Fleck was the first manager of the original one-chair van that had been mothballed by Medical Teams International. “Ronnie was very likeable,” says Sharkey, “so I agreed. Then I got hooked.”

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Dental van volunteers have treated over 1,500 patients in the past 12 months, delivering $587,000 worth of free dental services. The van parks at churches, clinics, businesses, jails, and other locations. Helpline partners with the clinic to schedule patients while Canwell schedules the dental professionals, including volunteer dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists.

Sharkey now works primarily at the county jail and at Broetje Orchard, where he treats migrant workers and their families, many of whom have never been to a dentist.

The dental van has two treatment chairs and a waiting room, and nine local dentists donate their time. “We don’t turn people away,” says Sharkey. “It’s a wonderful service for the Walla Walla valley. I just wish we had more dentists volunteering. The gift is the satisfaction you get when you see how you can change someone’s life. It’s very rewarding.”

FYI

Helpline schedules patients for the dental van at 509-529-3377. To donate to the denture fund, send a check made out to Medical Teams International, WW Denture Fund, P.O. Box 627, Walla Walla, WA 99362. To volunteer or for more information, contact Keith Canwell at 509-301-9621 or by e-mail at .