Post by blackcrowheart on May 1, 2007 12:19:14 GMT -5
Dental support center to open in city
RAPID CITY �" The Aberdeen Area Tribal
Chairmen’s Health Board has received funds from the Indian Health
Service to establish a Dental Support Center that will serve 18 American
Indian reservations in the states of South Dakota, North Dakota,
Nebraska and Iowa. The initial programs of the AATCHB Dental Support
Center include an Early Childhood Caries Prevention program and a Tribal
Water Systems Fluoridation project.
Marty Jones, a registered dental hygienist, will direct the prevention
program and spend time on each of the 18 reservations to guide IHS
clinic staff and others who work with pregnant women and infants on
early caries prevention. Her instruction will include application of
sealants and fluoride varnish to the teeth of young children. It is very
common for children in the northern plains reservations to have an
especially destructive tooth decay caused by bacteria passed from mother
to children. Consequences of such severe tooth decay are not only the
pain, infections and tooth loss, but also eventual difficulty in
speaking properly, in self esteem, and even in eating, Jones said.
“I am looking forward to the visits to the Tribal communities,
sharing expertise I have gained over the past 17 years in dental caries
prevention, both here in South Dakota and Alaska. This is an effort to
which I am very committed,” Jones, who is originally from the
Rosebud Reservation, said.
There is a 40 per cent vacancy rate in dentist positions in IHS clinics,
according to AATCHB Executive Director Carole Anne Heart. “We are
very pleased to be able to provide an early childhood caries prevention
program for prenatal women and children up to 7 years old on all of our
reservations.”
The Dental Support Center will also work with Head Start, Early Head
Start and other young child-serving programs on all of the 18
Reservations. For more information, contact Marty Jones at 721-1922.
RAPID CITY �" The Aberdeen Area Tribal
Chairmen’s Health Board has received funds from the Indian Health
Service to establish a Dental Support Center that will serve 18 American
Indian reservations in the states of South Dakota, North Dakota,
Nebraska and Iowa. The initial programs of the AATCHB Dental Support
Center include an Early Childhood Caries Prevention program and a Tribal
Water Systems Fluoridation project.
Marty Jones, a registered dental hygienist, will direct the prevention
program and spend time on each of the 18 reservations to guide IHS
clinic staff and others who work with pregnant women and infants on
early caries prevention. Her instruction will include application of
sealants and fluoride varnish to the teeth of young children. It is very
common for children in the northern plains reservations to have an
especially destructive tooth decay caused by bacteria passed from mother
to children. Consequences of such severe tooth decay are not only the
pain, infections and tooth loss, but also eventual difficulty in
speaking properly, in self esteem, and even in eating, Jones said.
“I am looking forward to the visits to the Tribal communities,
sharing expertise I have gained over the past 17 years in dental caries
prevention, both here in South Dakota and Alaska. This is an effort to
which I am very committed,” Jones, who is originally from the
Rosebud Reservation, said.
There is a 40 per cent vacancy rate in dentist positions in IHS clinics,
according to AATCHB Executive Director Carole Anne Heart. “We are
very pleased to be able to provide an early childhood caries prevention
program for prenatal women and children up to 7 years old on all of our
reservations.”
The Dental Support Center will also work with Head Start, Early Head
Start and other young child-serving programs on all of the 18
Reservations. For more information, contact Marty Jones at 721-1922.