DENTAL STUDENTS HELP LOW-INCOME KIDS SMILE WITH PRIDE.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer CANYON COUNTRY - It was all too much for a 5-year-old. Little Christian Montoyo fit the bill for Friday's free dentistry dentistry, treatment and care of the teeth and associated oral structures. Dentistry is mainly concerned with tooth decay, disease of the supporting structures, such as the gums, and faulty positioning of the teeth. program for 100 children from low-income families. The paperwork was filled out. He was this close to hopping in the dentist's chair. Then came the tears. ``We're just going to count your teeth,'' said USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. dental student Kimberly Foon, trying to cajole (language) CAJOLE - (Chris And John's Own LanguagE) A dataflow language developed by Chris Hankin <clh@doc.ic.ac.uk> and John Sharp at Westfield College. ["The Data Flow Programming Language CAJOLE: An Informal Introduction", C.L. the youngster into her chair. ``I promise it won't hurt.'' Three of the 20 students from the University of Southern California's Mobile Dental Clinic tried to get Christian to agree to an exam. Student dentist Michael Murasko spoke in Spanish to the little boy urging him to watch as another student, Julius Kong, worked on a pig-tailed little girl. But it wasn't going to happen ... this time. Christian sobbed and clung clung v. Past tense and past participle of cling. clung Verb the past of cling clung cling to his mother unaware that behind his back volunteers with the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Foundation for Children's Dental Health, which sponsored the clinic, were making plans. Instead of giving the exam on Friday, the foundation will send him later to one of the private-practice dentists in town who participate in the organization's effort to ensure families with limited incomes and no dental insurance Dental insurance is insurance designed to pay the costs associated with dental care. Dental insurance pays a portion of the bills from dentists, hospitals, and other providers of dental services. get the care their children need. Other than a tear or two, the clinic on the grounds of a Canyon Country church went well. Parents of children previously screened by dentists who visit local schools signed in, then gathered under a big yellow-and-white-striped tent to fill out their paperwork. Two by two, the children sat in the exam chairs in one specially outfitted motor home, then lined up outside a second one for X-rays. Through the coming week they will return for fillings, sealants and extractions. ``They just poke at Verb 1. poke at - to push against gently; "She nudged my elbow when she saw her friend enter the restaurant" nudge, prod jog - give a slight push to elbow - shove one's elbow into another person's ribs you and look around in there,'' 9-year-old Natalie Franco said as she waited in line at the X-ray station. ``My brother has a big hole in his tooth.'' Dentist Randall Niederkohr, director of USC's mobile clinic, had 20 students, three faculty members and three dental assistants dental assistant n. A person trained to assist a dentist with clinical and administrative procedures. at the clinic. ``It's a really important outreach,'' Niederkohr said. ``Some of these kids have never seen a dentist. Some of the cases we see are urgent.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Felipe Patino gets an exam from USC student Diana Akopyan during the Mobile Dental Clinic's visit to Canyon Country. About 100 children got the free exams Friday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion