Hello TDOT: 5-year-old Valentin Ramirez prepares for digital panoramic X-rays May 18 (left), and Dr. Habjan explains the results (right). Like many children at San Juan Elementary, Valentin needs significant restorative work.“Since its inception, Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today was designed to not only help advance the dental profession, but also serve as a fully-functional, mobile dental office and resource for voluntary dental treatment initiatives,” said Tim Sullivan, president of Sullivan-Schein. “Our support of outreach programs is part of our ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility, which is why TDOT’s efforts to date have targeted communities where large segments of the population have lacked access to oral health care,” said Mr. Sullivan.
Donating use of TDOT is no small commitment on the company’s part. It takes some 20 hours and no fewer than three staff members to assemble the exhibit for full-service dentistry.
“We are honored to have partnered with the Virginia Dental Association and the California Dental Association in support of these important outreach efforts, and to have provided resources, including donated dental supplies, to support these projects,” said Mr. Sullivan. “It is through partnerships such as this, which mobilize the resources of the public, private, and professional sectors, that we are able to help improve community health outcomes and increase oral health awareness.”
The May 18–19 event marked the Orange County Dental Society’s sixth visit to San Juan Elementary.
TDOT on tour: Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today hits the highway en route to the West Coast for an access program in California.
“We never run out of kids here,” said Laura Petersen, OCDS executive director. “Ninety percent of the students are on federally funded school lunch programs. It’s a low-income patient population that is predominately Hispanic, and the school tends to have a lot of transition because the parents go where they find work. The nearest community health center has a three-month wait for appointments.”
Having access to the Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today exhibit was a singular experience, added Ms. Petersen, the OCDS’ executive director for 18 years who was called into duty as a dental assistant for the event. “We have had more than a few problems with equipment at access events in the past,” she said. “We showed up to see patients once only to find we had no equipment in the mobile van. Another time vandals had tampered with our electricity and we ended up losing power.”
Added Ms. Petersen: “This week we treated some kids who had very serious dental concerns, and everyone felt good about the work that was done. All the equipment was new, and the environment was spacious. The doctors were kind of wowed by it.”
The mobile exhibit is part of a three-year multifaceted campaign that focuses on digital technology and software for managing all aspects of a dental practice.
Goodbye TDOT: Valentin says goodbye to Dr. Habjan at the end of his appointment.
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