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About 600 Luverne Elementary School students played games in the gym last week to learn about oral health, thanks to the Rock County Oral Health Task Force under #Luv1LuvAll.
February was National Children’s Dental Health Month, and students celebrated “dental days” on Feb. 25 and 26 with interactive games and presentations in the north gym.
Under the direction of Cris Gilb, executive director of the Minnesota Oral Health Project, they learned about proper brushing techniques, how to detect a cavity, the importance of fluoride and more.
When it was over, students received dental goodie bags (toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, coupons from Adrian Family Dental).
The goodie bags were purchased with donations from Adrian Family Dental, Colgate, and Wilson Orthodontics. Living Rock Church youth assembled the goodie bags as a community service project.
#Luv1uvAll leads oral health project in Rock County
The project is part of a broader effort to improve local access to dental care led by #Luv1LuvAll, which grew out of a Blandin Foundation “Leaders Partnering to End Poverty” initiative.
Access to dental care was identified in the fall of 2018 as a priority for improving the lives of local families. Rock County’s 9,000-plus residents are served by one local dentist office that’s open four days per week and doesn’t accept state dental insurance.
What this means is that families on Medicaid have to travel two to three hours for dental care, requiring missed school for students and missed work for parents, creating financial and educational stress on families.
As a result, they put off dental appointments, and children develop oral health issues affecting their learning with distracting pain and frequent visits to the school nurse.
Statewide studies show 37 percent of ER visits in rural areas are related to oral health, likely because of poor access to care and insurance.
With nearly 60 percent of Minnesota children on Medicaid as their primary insurance, oral health has suffered. For example, more than half of Minnesota third-graders experience dental decay and 18 percent have untreated cavities.
Recognizing dental care as a priority, #Luv1LuvAll formed its Rock County Oral Health Task Force to find ways to address the problem.
In addition to last week’s oral health exercise, the group:
•piloted a tooth-brushing program for second-graders.
•arranged for a district-wide dental screening that flagged 125 students for dental concerns.
•arranged for a mobile dental clinic to stop in Rock and Nobles counties monthly.
The next clinic will be April 1. Call 612-746-1530 to make an appointment. All insurance is accepted, and discounts are offered for income-eligible families.
“The task force is working to alleviate the burden many families on medical assistance face in having to travel hours to locate dentists who take their insurance,” said Wanda Jarchow, a #Luv1LuvAll local leader.
#Luv1uvAll tackling
poverty from all angles
At a Feb. 24 regroup meeting, members of #Luv1LuvAll reviewed dental health and other community efforts, such as access to resources for seniors (the Generations project) and access to mental health (the Brain Health series to decrease stigma).
The group will continue watching for unmet needs it can work on in the community, as it stated in a recent online message.
“Do you have an idea for how a group can try to help solve — or improve — a need to help those in our community? We want to hear from you,” the message read.
“Luverne is an amazing community and is always making improvements to the town, but there is still so much that can be done to help those that are in need.”
Call 507-227-1978 or email luv1luvallluverne@gmail.com.