February 29, 2004 |
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area
|
CONCORD, CA - Ronald McDonald House Charities announced today the delivery of Contra Costa County’s first Ronald McDonald Dental Care Mobile, a dental office on wheels; its arrival coincides with Children’s Dental Health Month in February. An official launch event of the vehicle and pediatric dental services will take place on Thursday, February 26, 2004 at 10 a.m. at Mt. Diablo Medical Center, 2540 East Street, in Concord.
The mobile unit is a partnership of county dental action leadership organizations
including John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System, La Clinica De la Raza, Brookside
Community Health Center, Contra Costa Health Services, and Ronald McDonald House
Charities of the Bay Area. Dubbed the “Contra Costa Collaborative,”
this group of organizations has been working together toward the launch of this
oral health project for two and one-half years. The roving dental office is
one of a fleet of Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles around the world sponsored by
Ronald McDonald House Charities to help improve children’s health and
encourage preventive medical care. The Bay Area’s first Ronald McDonald
Dental Care Mobile was launched in conjunction with Santa Clara Valley Medical
Center in 2000, and during the past three years has served the oral health needs
of more than 7,000 children throughout Santa Clara County.
The Ronald McDonald Dental Care Mobile will visit underserved communities in
Contra Costa County—areas where pediatric dentistry is scarce, and transportation
is a barrier to care. The vehicle’s first outreach efforts include delivery
of dental services to elementary schoolchildren in the Pittsburg Unified School
District.
“The rampant tooth decay we find in the underprivileged child population
leads to major health problems and can hamper eating, sleeping—even the
ability to learn,” said Dr. Phillip Vargas, lead dentist for the new Care
Mobile.
Poor dental health greatly affects the performance and attendance of students,
concurs Lynne Plunkett, principal at Heights Elementary School in Pittsburg,
one of the schools to be served by the Care Mobile. “Many of our children
frequently suffer from pain that distracts them and keeps them away from school,
and embarrassment from the state of their teeth and gums. When a child can barely
speak in school because of this, it detours their ability to learn,” she
explains.
“Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area, in conjunction with
local McDonald’s restaurants, has a clear commitment to bettering the
lives of children in our communities,” said Scott Rodrick, President of
RMHCBA and a McDonald’s restaurant owner/operator. “We believe we
can make a significant impact on children’s health by donating this state-of-the-art
dental office on wheels to the Contra Costa community and partnering with local
experts on the issue of children’s oral health,” he added.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area (RMHCBA) is dedicated to helping
children right here in our own backyards. By granting funds to dozens of children’s
programs in the areas of the music, arts, health and education, RMHCBA is building
a brighter, more promising future for local kids. RMHCBA is also an annual contributor
to its cornerstone program, the Ronald McDonald Houses in San Francisco and
Palo Alto. To date, RMHCBA has contributed more than five million dollars locally
to enrich the lives of thousands of Bay Area children.
February is Children's Dental Health Month, a national annual observance in which dentists and dental professionals focus efforts to improve the oral health of all children. Each February, attention is drawn to the status of children's oral health in this country.
Informed by the Surgeon General's Report, Oral
Health in America , we now know that dental caries are the single most common
chronic childhood disease. Despite improvements within the last generation,
poor children right here in the United States suffer twice as many dental caries
as more affluent children. In addition to low public awareness of the importance
of oral health, the report found a significant disparity between racial and
socioeconomic groups in regard to oral health and ensuing overall health issues.
Based on these findings, the Surgeon General called for action to promote access
to oral health care for all Americans, especially the disadvantaged and minority
children found to be at greatest risk for severe medical complications resulting
from minimal oral care and treatment.
Fast Facts
*California's children have twice as much untreated decay as their national
counterparts.
*Only 10 percent of California eight-year-olds get sealants for their first
permanent molars.
*One-third of the parents of California preschoolers report giving them nighttime
bottles, a practice that promotes tooth decay.
*Only 30 percent of Californians currently receive the benefits of fluoridated
water.
Source: USC School of Dentistry
