SAN CARLOS As she looked at the Disney characters decorating
the walls of the San Carlos Apache Healthcare Dental Clinic and
at the smiling, laughing children watching dental health demonstrations,
Suzanne Haney thought back to what a trip to the dentist used to
be.
"Back then, it was so different, it was in the '70s you know, the
treatment wasn't great," said Haney, a grandmother and primary caretaker
for three children under age 8. "It made you afraid to come to the
dentist."
That was just one of the challenges facing health care officials
on the San Carlos Apache reservation as they struggled to improve
dental health of tribe members.
While 36% of kindergartners in the U.S. experienced tooth decay,
according to the 2016 edition of the First Things First's Children's
Oral Health Report, the average in Arizona was 52%, and among Native
children it was even higher. Numbers specific to the San Carlos
Apache were not available, but the report said that 76% of Native
American kindergartners nationwide had experienced tooth decay.
The San Carlos Apache tribe is looking to change those numbers
with events like the Oral Health Month program that Haney and close
to 300 others attended in February.
"We decorate the place, and we spend most of the day bringing Head
Start children and the community members and let them go through
and see the dental department in an environment which is fun rather
than stressful," said Dr. Gregory Waite, the chief of the San Carlos
Apache dental
program.
Dozens of laughing children went from table to table in the clinic's
lobby, where presenters taught them different dental hygiene techniques
or oral health tips. Visitors also got dental screenings and fluoride
varnish treatments at the event.
"Most people don't like going to the dentist," Waite said. "We
try to get them to see the dentist's office in a different light,
and we enjoy that."
It's part of the Strong
Teeth Strong Kid campaign created by Native
American Connections, an organization that has teamed up with
other groups to raise awareness about the importance of dental care,
especially for children age 5 and under.
The campaign focuses on "s-milestones"
or smile milestones that promote good habits like
using a clean, damp washcloth to wipe milk or formula off a baby's
gums twice a day and twice-daily brushing when primary teeth begin
to come in. It also focuses on education so parents know when to
bring their children to the dentist.
Kevin Russell, who owns marketing consulting company Totem Concepts,
helped design the campaign. He said there aren't a lot of health
programs that target Native Americans.
"There's a huge value for strength in most Native cultures, hence
the name Strong Teeth Strong Kid," Kevin Russell said.
Haney said adults would not bring their children in to the dentist
because they themselves were scared. That rubbed off on the kids,
she said, so the cycle continued. That was echoed by Corey Hemstreet,
a health program manager on the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian
Health Care.
"That fear of some dentistry practices was something that was like
historical trauma,; which is something that went into children,"
Hemstreet said.
Waite said that results from the campaign paired with the San Carlos
Apache Healthcare "are going to take time, but we've already made
some strides. There are a lot of kids out there now that have all
of their work done, who in the past would not have gotten that done."
It's all part of a movement by the tribe to take greater control
of its members' health care. San Carlos Apache
Healthcare CEO Victoria Began said that in less than five years,
the tribe has more than doubled the services it offers.
Haney, who said her grandchildren got excellent care at the Oral
Health Month event, credits the San Carlos Apache Healthcare team
for caring about their patients a change from when she was
growing up.
"Now (my grandchildren) are not afraid to come to the dentist.
You know, I used to have to go into the back with them, now they
just walk back there," she said. "It's a really good thing for the
people here."
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