By CVTC News Bureau
Katie Pospishil, a dental hygienist student at Chippewa Valley Technical College, looked at 9-year-old Collin Adkins and asked, “How long are you supposed to brush your teeth?”
“Two minutes,” Collin replied as his mother, Desi Adkins looked on.
Pospishil went on to review for the family the results of the dental exam Collin received at the annual “Give Kids a Smile Day” event Friday at the CVTC Dental Clinic at the college’s Health Education Center in Eau Claire. In addition to an exam and teeth cleaning, the young patients served at the free clinic received a good helping of dental care education.
“He’s actually pretty good at brushing his teeth,” said Desi, who also brought 5-year-old and 2-year-old girls to the event. “We make sure they brush two times a day.”
The children were among about 130 seen by dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and students in CVTC’s dental hygienist program.
Sponsored nationwide by the American Dental Association and locally by the Chippewa Valley Dental Society and the Wisconsin Dental Association, “Give Kids a Smile Day” events offer free dental care to children ages 2 to 13. This is CVTC’s tenth year hosting the event locally.
“This is a big help to families who don’t have insurance and who can’t afford to go for cleanings,” said CVTC dental hygienist instructor Kris Phillipson. “A lot of the kids are having cleanings, an exam, fluoride treatment, x-rays, and some of them are having sealants.”
The dentists volunteering their time, which included Marquette University School of Dentistry residents at the CVTC clinic, did a number of filings, extractions and other work during the day. However, time constraints prevented them from taking care of all of the dental decay discovered in the exams.
“We try to be fair and get every kid some care,” Phillipson said. “We wish we could do more.”
“We love helping the kids,” said Dr. Lonnette Breneman of Hillside Dental in Eau Claire, whose dental partner and husband, Dr. Tom Breneman, started the local “Give Kids a Smile” service with CVTC dental hygienist instructor Pam Entorf.
All four dentists from Hillside took part, along with eight other dentists from practices around the area.
“Most of the kids we see need dental care, but we’ve seen great improvement over the 10 years,” Lonnette Breneman said. “Coming to the clinic here gets (the kids) in the loop so they can get continuous care.”
“We’ve been here probably four years now,” said Stefanie Lathrop of Osseo, who brought her children to the clinic. They are now regular patients at the CVTC Dental Clinic. “Teeth are very important. A good smile means everything.”
Lathrop said she chose the clinic for her children’s regular dental care for insurance reasons. “And it’s good for the students to get experience,” she said.
One of those CVTC dental hygienist students is Samantha Sterner of Durand, who has helped at “Give Kids a Smile Day” for three years.
“It makes me realize how much need there is in the community for access to dental care,” Sterner said. “This is a great opportunity for us to provide dental care and hopefully keep some of them as patients.”
The student hygienists work on patients in regular clinic settings as well, but the “Give Kids a Smile” event is a much busier day, and it teaches students that giving back to the community is part of all healthcare professions.
“A lot of the students who were graduates of the program here come back to volunteer. It’s like a class reunion,” Entorf said.