By Dianna Wray, Odessa American, Texas
Feb. 8--The waiting room in Dr. Joel Edwards' pediatric dental office was packed as parents waited for their children's turn to get a free dental exam.
On Friday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Edwards saw as many patients as he could for free.
There was a line 20 people deep when the doors opened at 8 a.m. By 10 a.m., Edwards said there were already more people in the waiting room than he had expected to see all day.
This year, Edwards decided he wanted to start giving back to the community by taking part in the American Dental Association's Give Kids a Smile day.
To do this, Edwards' office sent out notifications to Ector County Independent School District, along with local churches and charities, asking them to notify the parents of any children they felt could benefit from a dental exam.
He said he was thrilled.
"It's great. I just feel bad that we can't do more for the parents to help the kids," Edwards said.
Travis Elementary School student Ashton Casas, 9, kicked his legs and squirmed in the examining chair as he waited for his turn to be examined. His sister, Summer, stood to the side, waiting for her turn in the chair.
"It hurts here and here and up here," he said, opening his mouth to point out the teeth that were giving him trouble.
His father, Don Casas, who works in oil field drilling, said he was happy to hear about the program from the elementary school nurse. Casas said he was out of work and without insurance for a year after oil prices dropped. Now he is employed again, but the insurance won't kick in for a while. Meanwhile, his son's mouth was hurting.
Casas said it's very difficult to get dental care without insurance.
"If I had insurance, everything would be all right, but right now money is still tight, so when I heard about this I was glad to bring the kids," Casas said.
Edwards will provide the children with the greatest need of immediate attention -- those who have infections or are in pain -- with free dental work, when he sets aside another free clinic day in March, he said. His office is also putting eligible families in contact with Medicaid and CHIPS, the state dental program.
ECISD's Director of Health Services Laura Mathew said she felt the offer of free dental care filled a great need in ECISD.
"It's difficult for some families to make a dental visit. They're not eligible for Medicaid, and they don't have the luxury of spending a lot of money either. That's why it's important for Dr. Edwards to help these children out," Mathew said.
Mathew said ECISD elementary school nurses tried to select the students who don't qualify for government aid and can't afford dental care.
At Sam Houston Elementary, Judy Vick examined the mouths of all 540 students at the school, referring 60 of them.
"There aren't a lot of pediatric dentists in town who are doing this kind of thing. This was a great thing to do, even for just a few hours," Vick said.
Edwards hopes that the program will grow, including more dentists and moving to a larger area so that he and other dentists can offer both free exams and free dental work on the same day.
"You know, in school I used to go on missions to do dental work, but then I realized there's no reason to go out of the country when you can help people right here," Edwards said.
DENTAL TIPS
-- Brush your teeth at least twice a day.
-- Avoid foods that have a high amount of sugar.
-- Don't snack between meals.
-- Don't have snacks right before bedtime or take snacks or sippy cups to bed.
-- Floss.
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