Well, welcome everybody to a special episode of Unlimited Parenting.
I am thrilled to have not one, but two incredible guests from Delta Dental with us today to
dive into the world of dental health.
And together we're going to help answer some common questions families have and give them
some tips they may not have known.
So welcome to both Cammie and Heather and I will hold the floor for you to introduce
yourselves.
Cammie, can we start with you?
Hello, I'm Cammie Sinden and I am the manager of Community Outreach Direct Programming
at Delta Dental of Idaho.
Thank you, Heather.
Thank you so much.
It's great to be here.
My name is Heather Brown.
I am the senior director of oral health and community outreach and I get to work with
Cammie and a big fun team and we get to do a lot of cool things in the state.
So thanks for having me.
Yeah, thank you guys for lending your time and your expertise for Idaho families today.
I know that you guys have some really great initiatives and I just want to make sure that
everyone in our audience knows about them and how to access them.
So I was hoping we could get started by answering the question, what is the importance of oral
health to children?
Out of all of the other things parents have to do for their kids, well child checks, therapies,
what is the importance of oral health?
The mouth is connected to the body.
It's so important that everyone understands that.
Good oral health habits formed in childhood lay the foundation for lifelong health, prevent
painful dental issues and reduce the risk of health conditions related to poor oral
health, poor hygiene, dental decay, infections, gum disease, gingivitis, things like that.
Educating kids early on empowers them to take responsibility for their own health but it
helps them understand that caring for their teeth is important just like caring for their
whole body is important.
And I think that you make a really good point, something to highlight there is that when
we talk about a community of children with special health care needs, an infection even
in something like the teeth is something we very much want to stay away from.
So do you have any tips and tricks on how we can instill strong oral health in children?
I know you talk about kind of making it a habit.
Is there anything else you would tell families?
Letting the parents duplicate, right?
Replicate what the parents are doing, showing the kids, waking up every day, rushing with
them, doing it next to them so they see their parents doing it and it just becomes a habit.
They know it's something they need to do.
They do it in the morning before they go to work, go to school, same thing at night, making
it a routine.
They see their parents doing it, then they know they need to do it.
And then just a kind reminder, of course.
Even I need some of those, right?
Reminder, brush your teeth.
That's what assistive technology is for, right?
Can I pivot a little bit and ask what community initiatives that Delta Dental has around Idaho
right now?
Sure.
We have many different programs.
We have the Grins on the Go, which is a mobile dental clinic, and we go into the schools
to provide free sealants and fluoride and education.
And that's a great way to reach the children, bringing services to the children.
Parents don't have to take off work to pull their children out of school, drive to the
dentist, get them taken care of.
And we bring those services to them.
So that's a great program.
We see so many kids.
We're in over 220 schools in all over Idaho.
So that's one of our great programs that's really helping.
Another program we have is the Land of Smiles program, which is a virtual video kids can
watch.
It's fun.
It's got superheroes, characters, but it teaches the importance of oral hygiene, how to brush
and floss and avoid sugary drinks and have a healthy diet.
It's a fun way for the kids to learn.
And then we also, there's a pre and post test that they can take so we can ensure that the
kids are learning from that program as well.
If my school is not a part of that program, is that something I could ask my school to
ask about?
Absolutely.
So the Grins on the Go, we do target the lower income schools.
So we do use the free and reduced food lunch report to determine if they're 50% or greater.
They qualify for Grins on the Go for the free dental services.
But for the Land of Smiles, all schools qualify.
They just need to reach out if they're interested in having the educational program.
Fantastic.
And these are statewide, correct?
Not just in Treasure Valley?
Correct.
Wow, that's great.
Yeah.
And then we also do a lot of health fairs, community events.
We go to food banks, Salvation Armies.
We pop up everywhere to provide day clinics where we're providing screenings.
And we usually will see everybody at those.
We'll see their parents, the kids.
So we have a lot of different, we're just not scheduled, but we do have a lot of different
events that we attend as well on top of those programs.
Yeah.
And I'd like to add that we also have a Rethink Your Dream program.
And those are in schools.
And what it is basically, a school can apply for a grant to have a water bottle filling
station installed in their school.
And around the water bottle filling station, we provide water bottles for everyone at the
school.
There's lessons and teachings and stuff to help children kind of decide between a sugary
beverage and a water beverage.
And so that's been a very, very successful program.
And those grants and those water bottle filling stations can be basically applied for by any
school.
We initially started out with lower income schools, but we have grown the program and
it has been extremely successful as Kami's program has as well.
So that's been a great add on.
I think we've done it for a couple of years now.
Wow.
I definitely want to encourage my school to get access to that.
More specifically, can I ask in what ways Delta Dental of Idaho has provided support
to the special needs community?
I'll take that one.
And I'm really proud to report that a couple of years ago, there's a federally qualified
health center called Family Health Services.
It's in Jerome.
It's chaired or the cheerleader and the dentist in that community asks for some funding to
actually build a special needs clinic attached to the federally qualified health center and
it's called Your Healthy Smiles.
So her name is Dr. Brooke.
We not only funded building the clinic and I'm saying like, you know, tactile rooms,
but kind of wow, a different place for these folks to be able to be treated well and professionally.
And one of the things we did actually add on to that build was a special compact wheelchair
recliner that I think there's like two in the whole state of Idaho and we, Delta Dental
of Idaho funded both of those.
But this wheelchair chair actually can hold either a electronic wheelchair or a powered
wheelchair or, you know, regular wheelchair and you just, the wheelchair just kind of
goes back into the chair.
The patient doesn't have to get out of the wheelchair.
It tips back the way it's supposed to.
It makes having treatment done for the patient much, much more comfortable, but also the
provider.
And so Dr. Brooke, who uses this in her clinic, she is able to treat people that she was not
able to treat in a comfortable or respectful manner.
I know that sounds weird, but like I actually, she actually sent me pictures one day and
there was a patient sitting on a bench and she was like on the bench, like try to pull,
I don't know, a tooth or something like that.
It was just, that's because they don't have the equipment they need.
So we also bought one for Terry Riley Health Center, which is down here in Boise and they
use it a lot.
And so it's a very special chair.
They're not, they're not inexpensive.
Unfortunately, I wish everybody could have one, but it's something that we felt was really
important for this community.
And people literally will drive three or four hours to go to Dr. Brooke's clinic.
So that's what I was thinking is that that's where they are.
That's where I would want to drive to receive that service.
Absolutely.
And not only that, she's just amazing dentist anyway.
So she loves this population.
So you're going to get great treatment from her, but also any place that has one of these
chairs or wants it, you know, that's, that's really for them to decide.
And it's, it's just good all around.
Do you think that it would be fair to say that without access to a chair like that,
some of, some of our kids may have needed, you know, sedated dentistry in a hospital
to receive that kind of service.
And with this chair, now they can access that same level in the community clinic.
I think that's a possibility.
I think sometimes, or what I know is that a lot of times the children that are going
into the OR and being put under, it depends on their case, you know, like do they have
to have their whole mouth restored?
That might be a reason for going under anesthesia.
If it's something less than that, they just can't get comfortable or whatever.
I mean, this chair could definitely be a help there.
Or it's at least a start to see if the child or the grownup can manage themselves while
in the chair.
So yeah, but I think it's case dependent really.
Is there, can we expect in the future potentially any more chairs like that?
Is that part of the community initiative or is it just this was, we saw a need in this
one particular community and we had the ability to make that, to grant that wish at that time.
Yeah, to make that happen.
Honestly, that's kind of how it panned out, but I can tell you that Delta Dental of Idaho,
I think it's in its, we've done this about a year and a half now.
Delta Dental of Idaho Community Outreach has a grant program and this is the money that
we offer grants twice a year.
We do one in a grant cycle in April.
We do one in November or October.
It just closed for this year, but any entity that is interested in purchasing something
and doesn't have the money or has half and wants to apply for a grant for the other half,
we're always interested in helping other entities get what they need.
So yeah, it's something that we provide grant, we can provide grant money for.
And the grant process is pretty simple.
It's not a federal grant, like 25 pages or anything like that.
So yeah, if there's somebody out there that's interested, we're happy to take a look at
it.
Yeah, that's great.
That's good information to know.
For parents of children with sensory needs or dental anxiety, these visits are really
extra challenging.
Do you know, does Delta Dental support any kind of specialized training for providers
to make dental visits smoother?
Well, it depends on the go.
For our programming, and I should mention both Heather and I are hygienists as well,
we do have training for sensory issues and just, you know, each child's a little different
no matter who the child is, just how we're working with them.
So we are trained in working with different issues so that we can accommodate what that
child is needing a lot.
There are some programs for the dental community to do some training as well.
And I would encourage everyone to go out and get that training because each child's a little
bit different.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that that takes a lot of weight off of the parents when they're considering
what dental clinic to take their child, knowing that maybe if they are with Delta Dental,
they might have a little bit of extra knowledge and know-how.
And I might be more inclined to take my child there if I know that they are going to be
very calm and receptive because if it's one thing that parents of children with disabilities
know is sometimes that providers can lose their patience a little bit.
So I appreciate that.
Yeah.
And one thing we've had, we actually had a mom call and thank us.
We do the special needs classes as well at the schools.
And we had a little boy.
Yes, we make sure that we get into the special needs classes.
All of our hygienists and assistants are moms.
We work really well with the kids plus our special training.
But we did have a little boy, an autistic boy, and we were able to get on all of his
sealants and the mom just called us just thrilled saying that she's never been able to get him
even in the chair at the dental office.
And it took some coaxing.
We did have to, you know, he came the first day.
We are usually at the school for a few days.
He came in the first day and was like, no, no.
And then the next day, his special ed teacher brought him back in and it warmed up to us,
sat in the chair, opened up, let us do everything.
We've had quite a few.
We had another girl, same thing in middle school.
She's like, nope.
And she kind of let us have it.
And then the next day is so the issue was she needed to know what was going on.
So then we scheduled her, had it on her schedule.
She knew she was coming the next day and came back, hopped in the chair and we were just
the best thing ever.
And she let us do, we were able to get 16 sealants on her.
We were able to seal her premolars as well.
And it's amazing that she was in junior high and they were still, you were still able to
put the sealants on all of her teeth and no decay.
So that was awesome.
But we've had some great success stories and it's really, we have the time with what we
do and sometimes dental offices don't always have that luxury.
They have a schedule and patients waiting where we can take the time, work with them.
We don't have to have a strict schedule where we can just stay with that same kid for and
give them the extra time needed or let them come watch as long as it's okay with the other
child, let them watch for a little bit and see what we're doing and then maybe come back
the next day.
I do appreciate that we don't have to be on such a tight schedule so we can work with
the kids and let them ease into it so that we can place sealants or even if it's just
a fluoride treatment, you know, and they've never been able to have that, you know, the
sensory issues, they don't like things in their mouth.
So if we can get to that or even sometimes they'll let us get in there with a toothbrush
and just brush and just ease them into that treatment.
It's just, it makes us all super happy when we see that progress.
Yeah, that's fantastic.
And as a parent myself of three children with disabilities, hearing kind of those success
stories makes me very much feel relaxed and more likely to want to make that my one thing
that we need to push for out of all the sea of other things that we have as parents to
take care of and do.
This is one of those things that kind of relieves some anxiety so that I can make sure that
that becomes a priority.
Kind of in that same vein, can I ask what are some specific like dental services or
accommodations that maybe parents could ask for when they come in to see if they need
extra support for a visit?
If I'm going to Grins on the go, is there anything, any language that I could use to
help ask for things or let a provider know that maybe my child would need some extra
supports?
Especially when you let them know, hey, they have some sensory issues.
We have some different toys that children hold, sensory toys, you know, where they can
pop things with their fingers and they'll lay back in the chair and hold those.
And just being aware of what they like.
You know, sometimes we may think we're comforting by rubbing their arm and that is not a comfort
for some kids.
So just being aware and communicating with your provider and anything.
We have online slips and we have paper slips and we always, we have a section where it
says, please let us know, is there something we need to know about your child?
Always just communicate that if there's something that you know, don't do this, whether you're
at the dentist or filling out a slip for a school program, just communicate that.
And every providers just want to do right by everybody.
So if they have that information right up front, it's, it's going to help out.
Parents know their kids better than anyone.
And sometimes some of our training isn't always correct.
We may think we're helping when we're making the child more anxious.
Wow.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
And we've actually had parents come, they've called and said, may I be there?
And of course for us, that's not a problem.
We just ask that they call the school, make sure that's not going to be an issue.
But in the past, they've always coordinated if the parent has wanted to be there and they
will just, you know, we'll make sure we pull the kid at a certain time when they're there
and they can be back there if they think that that would help their child.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it makes it worse.
So but that's truly really accommodating and really trying to meet the needs of the child
where they are.
I mean, not only are we talking about a service that's not at a dental office, you're making
it more convenient for everybody.
And then allowing a lot of flexibility just makes it just seals the deal for me.
I will definitely be looking into that.
I think for the last question that I have is what would you say is the single most important
piece of advice that you could give to families from your perspective on dental health?
Good oral hygiene, educating your kids on the importance of good oral hygiene, living
it yourself, actually waking up and brushing and flossing and demonstrating that for your
child, choosing water over the sugary beverages, not saying you can't ever have that if you're
going to choose that, have it with a meal, but definitely drinking water throughout the
day and choosing a lower sugar diet as well, not just those drinks and regular visits,
just bringing, going to the dentist, living it for your child and bringing your child
going in every six months, doing the preventive services so that you don't get to the point
where you have a lot of decay and issues where you're having to be numb and go through the
treatment, that's what scares the kids.
And definitely don't think it's funny to tease their kids about getting numb, things like
that.
We run into so many parents that think it's so funny to say they're going to get a big
shot.
Don't use those words.
We have different words that we use.
Of course, we don't give anyone numb with the Grand Theumago program, but we have different
words that we use.
We explain everything to the children, but we don't show them scary things, just tell
them what it's going to feel like.
So there's no surprises, but we don't have to use needle-angle shots.
That's really helpful to know because sometimes as an adult, I want to prepare my child for
every eventuality when you guys are the experts in that and have it under control and I can
just kind of trust the process.
Yeah, so instead of an injection with a needle, we'll say a cold sprayer.
And I explain exactly what it is.
It's a cold sprayer.
It's going to feel very cold.
It feels tight.
You feel like a little pinch.
It feels really tight and then it feels really, really cold.
And then your lip starts to feel really fat and funny.
Kids hear that and they're like, okay, it's going to feel tight.
It's going to feel pinched.
There's that.
It's amazing.
I worked in a pediatric office for years and that's all I did was numb up kids all day long
for treatment.
And I don't know that I really had a failure.
You tell the kids what they're going to feel and it's not a surprise.
They understand it.
But if the parent has been there telling them how they're going to get a big needle, they're
just done.
They're done before they even get in the chair.
So yeah, it's not funny.
It's not funny to tell your kids those things.
Just let us get in there and tell them what we're going to do.
We're not going to scare them.
We're not going to surprise them.
But let us do the words.
We Mr. Thirsty, a cold sprayer.
We've got the cute words and we tell them the suction's very loud.
You're going to hear a lot of noise and all it's doing is sucking out the spit.
Once they know, they're fine.
But just coming in blind and hearing all these crazy noises and knowing a big needle's coming,
that can be scary.
So we don't like to use certain words.
Yeah.
I just like to, I mean, and I sure, Cammie, you've heard this many times, but I mean,
when I was treating children, like a parent would literally say to their child, while
I'm trying to take an x-ray or something like that, like, we have a really bad gag reflex.
And I'm like, okay, well, hold up.
You might have a bad gag reflex, but let's not teach like what Cammie was saying.
Like, just let the child experience what they're going to experience.
And what your experience as an adult may have been doesn't necessarily have to be the same
for the child.
And something I do want to add on very quickly is that children should see a dentist, I think
it's by the age of one or when the first tooth has erupted, which is the two little baby
centrals in the mouth.
So that is part of the training.
If you're getting your child into a provider or to not necessarily do any treatment, but
it's introducing the child every six months as an infant and growing and learning that
the dentist is not a bad, horrible dragon person.
So bringing them in when they're age one or first eruption of tooth is really, really
important and that can go for a lifetime of just being trained early on.
And that it's fun to go and that we have prizes and so on and so forth.
And I think that that's a big deal.
And a lot of times that's really to educate the parent too.
After they're coming in at age one or six months after that first tooth eruption, usually
about one, they may not know.
We do hear parents saying, it's just a baby tooth.
That's a baby tooth they're keeping till they're 12.
So it is a big deal that there's a big, huge cavity in it.
And an infection can spread through the body and into the heart or into the eye.
It's just letting the parent know it is more than just a baby tooth and just a baby tooth
toothache hurts just as bad as an adult toothache.
And it hurts.
And it's just educating the parent, not putting them to bed with the bottle and sugary drinks
in the bottle.
A lot of it's to education.
So definitely going in for that first visit at one and then continuing it and slowly working
the child up to letting us do more.
That first one might just be a quick look, see if anything, but maybe at a year and a
half to we're actually starting to polish some teeth.
Great.
Yeah.
Introducing them to stuff.
And something that I teach when I'm out teaching is that I think it's about 51 million school
hours are lost every year for children that are in dental pain.
So that's a lot of hours and children can't concentrate just like Cami was saying, like,
yeah, they're just baby teeth, but they're spaceholders for their adult teeth.
They still have, they're still sensitive.
So children can't eat properly when they don't have proper dental care.
Their speech may be impeded, nutrition, just all kinds of different.
And when you're in pain, you can't focus and learn.
So oral health care as a child is really, really, really important.
And I'm really proud of the programs that we have with Delta Delta, and that we get
to serve the entire state.
And I just have to give a shout out to Cami because she manages all those programs and
she does a fabulous job and you can see she's passionate and I'm happy to be here with her.
Yeah, I can definitely feel, I can definitely feel the passion and I'm almost kind of, I'm
almost kind of feel sad that parents are going to be listening to this audio only and not
see your guys' faces because there was definitely a lot of animation, a lot of heart.
I can say that for sure.
Yeah, that's us.
Everything that we've discussed today will definitely have a link included in our description
so parents can find ways to access that and learn more about those programs.
I definitely want to give a huge thanks to both you Cami and Heather for bringing your
expertise and your time and sharing your knowledge with us.
Thank you so much for being here.
Yeah, thank you so much for having us.
Thank you so much everyone out there for listening in and know that if you are in Idaho or planning
on moving to Idaho and have questions on systems or services for children with disabilities,
please consider reaching out to us on our website at iPullIdaho.org or by calling us
at 208-342-5884.
Be sure to tune in next time.
Until then, this has been Unlimited Parenting.
Thanks for listening.
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