The Garden City Telegram
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Filling a need
Published 4/19/2008 in News : Area coverage
By RACHEL DAVIS
rdavis@gctelegram.com
Though efforts like Kansas Mission of Mercy exist to help provide dental care to those with little or no insurance, KMOM officials said it doesn't alleviate a growing national problem that Americans who lack access or can't afford dental care face.
KMOM is a two-day mass, free dental clinic designed to give dental care to those without dental insurance or regular access to dental care. This is the second time Garden City has hosted the event, going on Friday and today at the Finney County Fairgrounds. The first KMOM, which dentist Jeff Stasch and Wichita dentist Jon Tilton began, was held here in 2003.
Greg Hill, executive director of the Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation, which provides funding for KMOM, said at least 700 people were treated Friday and the numbers, though low compared to past years, still show a need for dental care in the state.
He said it costs $70,000 to put on the event but the extension of care to those who may have never seen a dentist is priceless.
"So many people can't afford dental coverage so they opt not to go," he said. "At least here, they receive the care they need."
Stasch said in 2003, KMOM provided $480,000 of dental work and served 1,200 people in Garden City.
Among a crowd of 50, the last group to be seen for the day, was Katharina Neudorf of Sublette, who had driven to Garden City with her three children to receive dental care.
She said because the family has no dental insurance, Friday was the first time her children had seen a dentist.
Tina Neudorf, 12, speaking on behalf of her mother who knew little English, said the family found out about the event from a flier in The Telegram.
She said the family arrived at 9 a.m. and waited nearly seven hours to receive care.
On Friday, Tina's younger sister, Helena, 8, had two teeth pulled as a result of unattended cavities that caused an infection.
"I don't know if we will have time for me to see a dentist," Tina said. "I have never seen a dentist and I want to see one so maybe I can have straight teeth."
Garden City resident Osballdo Barrera, who had been waiting 4 1/2 hours to see a dentist about a filling, said even though he has a job, his employer does not offer dental insurance.
And he said he has worked other jobs where insurance and health benefits are not provided.
"Going to the dentist is expensive, especially if you don't have insurance," Barrera said.
Dentist Kevin Cassidy of Topeka said it's cases like these where people are having to chose between paying for rent and groceries or going to the dentist that worries him.
"Medicine is seen as a necessity and dentistry is seen as a luxury," he said. "And with the growing cost of medical premiums, dentistry is slowly getting shoved out."
At KMOM, there's no eligibility or income requirements and no appointments. It's on a first-come, first-served basis, with doors opening at 5:30 a.m. Services include fillings, cleanings and extractions.
Stasch said at the end of Friday, $425,000 worth of free services were provided including 250 cleanings and about 270 people seen for fillings.
Dentist Cindi Sherwoord of Independence has participated in all seven KMOM events and said the needs are different across the state.
She said Independence is home to about 9,000 people but has only five dentists in town.
"We're swamped," Sherwood said. "I have patients on waiting lists. Some have to wait at least three months for their next appointment."
She said in rural settings, a general dentist has more responsibility and must be able to handle all types of dentistry, from basic care like cleanings to advanced care like braces.
"People travel 60 miles to receive care from my office because accessibility of oral health care is so sparse," Sherwood said. "It's not like a big city where I can refer a patient to an orthodontist across the street."
According to KMOM statistics, in the 10 biggest counties with the most populated areas, there is one dentist for every 1,800 people, compared to rural settings where there's one dentist for every 2,800 people.
Stasch said the discrepancies between rural and urban health care stem from several issues, including each county's economy.
He said because western Kansas is mostly agricultural or cattle-industry based, health plans and benefits offered to employees are usually less than those offered to a unionized skilled workforce.
Stasch said in rural settings, people are paid less and communication problems are plentiful.
"You have 6- or 7-year-olds translating for their parents medical terms because the parents can't speak English," he said. "As a dentist in that situation, I don't know if what the parent is agreeing to is the care they actually need or how what I said was interpreted by a child who then passes the information onto the parent for a health care decision. Sometimes you just don't know."
Despite the problems surrounding dental care, Barrera and the Neudorf family are thankful for programs like KMOM.
"It's events like these that really help the people that need it," Barrera said. "I know it has helped me."
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