Mobile dental clinic to start service in Kalamazoo County next week

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

The long-awaited mobile dental clinic should be on the road in Kalamazoo next week, county officials said.

The 40-foot-long RV that has two dentist chairs, a laboratory and a small waiting room is expected to arrive on Sunday, according to Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services.

The mobile clinic will travel to elementary and middle schools at Kalamazoo Public Schools, starting Wednesday with Lincoln International Studies School.

For the first time, children will be able to get cavities filled — instead of just their teeth cleaned — at school, said Bonnie Dykehouse, the county dental clinic’s program manager.

The mobile clinic will target underserved children whose families cannot afford dental care.

In future years, the clinic could expand to visit other school districts besides Kalamazoo, Dykehouse said. It is starting with KPS because the health department already has a dental program set up to serve the district’s children.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/03/mobile_dental_clinic_to_start.html