By Brad Hicks / Staff Writer

When Dr. Edwin Smith’s 18-wheel mobile dentistry clinic pulls up to a school, one thing is for certain: it’s sure to bring smiles to the students.

Smith’s private practice pays for the mobile unit, which provides free dental cleanings and care for area students.

Smith, a graduate of Union College and University of Kentucky Dental School, has operated his own practice in Barbourville since 1989. Aside from providing dentistry services from his office, Smith has also worked with the family resource center for Knox Central High School and is in his second term as a member of the Barbourville City School Board.

In 2000, the U.S. Surgeon General reported that oral disease was a silent epidemic. That same report stated that Appalachian children in Kentucky are the least likely to see a dentist compared to all other regions of the United States.

“After that report, several people around here started paying attention to dental health,” he said.

What ultimately inspired Smith to become involved with other schools was a visit from one of his patients, Maxine Reed, and what she had recounted to him. Reed, the regional program manager for the Family Resource and Youth Service Center, had attended a meeting of the Kentucky Dental Health Coalition in Fall 2003. She told Smith that she had seen images of the state of oral health in the Commonwealth.

From this conversation, Smith recognized the need to assist other school children, not just those at Knox Central, with dental health needs.

“I started thinking about some mobile way to go to these other schools,” he said.

Initially, he planned to take portable dentistry kits into the schools. Later, however, Smith decided upon taking the dentist’s office to the schools via the back of an 18-wheeler.

Three years ago, Smith started the Kids First Dental Care Mobile Dental Program to visit schools in eastern Kentucky. While this mobile clinic visited only schools in Knox County its first year in existence, Smith said the demand for visits from other schools in the area has grown.

“We’ve got schools from all over the state asking us to come next year now,” he said.

Next week, Smith will be visiting schools in Middlesboro and has previously serviced students of schools in Knox, Whitley, Bell, Jackson and Rockcastle counties.

“Our main goal is to get kids in treatment and find them a dental home,” he said.

Aside from helping students build a relationship with a dentist and get them more comfortable with going, the program seeks to take preventive measures to ensure children do not suffer from untreated dental problems down the line.

Students of all grade levels are eligible to attend. If the student is covered under Medicaid, insurance is billed for services rendered. Students whose parents cannot afford services or are not covered by insurance aren’t billed.

“It’s a free service for those who can’t afford it,” Smith said. “We do provide comprehensive care for some children not getting it otherwise. We can do anything in the mobile unit that we can do in the office.”

Smith said feedback from both parents and students on the program has been outstanding.

“It’s a really good experience,” he said. “They go in with their peers and they’re not afraid. It breaks the ice for them going to the dentist. The parents are really pleased and the students really like it.”

Smith said he averages between 150 and 200 students at each of the elementary schools he visits. Since the program began, he estimates about 8,000 students have made their way into the mobile clinic.

“We could be busy with this thing every day of the week,” he said.

Smith wants others to know how important dental health is and said it is a topic that seems to have taken a back seat in this area.

His mobile unit has even garnered national attention having been featured in the New York Times and in a recent by Diane Sawyer for an upcoming segment on ABC News.

“I think we have done a poor job educating people on the importance of oral health,” Smith said. “So many times we’ll talk to kids who don’t know who their dentist is, have never been to a dentist’s office or don’t have a dentist. People have just not put that value on oral health.”

Smith sees oral health care as crucial to a person’s entire well-being — So much so that he was in Lexington last week to speak before the House Health and Welfare Committee about a bill that would require students to receive dental examinations before starting school.

“The dental bill is going to put oral care right up there with eye care,” Smith said. “If the state requires the exam it means the state is recognizing the importance of oral care.”

According to the bill, children would have until Jan. 1 of their first school year to have the examination completed, before they could start school.

“One of the biggest reasons kids miss school is because of dental problems,” he said.

Also according the bill, these required examinations would begin in 2011. There are allies for the passing of the bill, such as Dr. Fred Howard, a dentist practicing in Harlan and president of the Kentucky Dental Association.

“He’s really gone to bat for getting this bill passed,” Smith said.

It was approved last week by the committee and will now go to the House floor. However, the bill has caused concern among those who will ultimately decide the bill’s fate because it may cause an increase in dental costs for Medicaid. But Smith said the bill will cut costs over time. “Legislators are concerned that it puts some burden on Medicaid, but it wouldn’t cost them that much,” he said. “There would be initial costs, but we’re talking about preventive care, which would actually save money in the long run.”



Brad Hicks can be reached at bhicks@the

timestribune.com