Edited by Dentaltown staff
About 10,000 Boy Scouts, plus 5,000 leaders and other support staff, visited Summit Bechtel Reserve in Glen Jean, West Virginia, July 19–28 for the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree.
The Monongalia County Health Department’s mobile dental office, called Smile Express, and the West Virginia University School of Dentistry teamed up at the Jamboree to provide emergency dental services for attendees.
Smile Express is a converted 2005 Winnebago Voyage motorhome with three slide-outs, two dental operatories, a digital X-ray equipment, a sterilization center, software to send images to the county health department's dentistry division, and a gaming station in the waiting area.
Dr. Mark Henderson, a retired dentist from Kaufman, Texas, headed up emergency dental services at the Jamboree, assisted by Tiffany Summerlin, a dental hygienist at MCHD Dentistry; Dr. Michael Bagby, the associate dean for predoctoral academic affairs at the WVU School of Dentistry; MCHD Dentistry’s Dr. Youseph Kassar; Dr. Stephen Pachuta, dean of the WVU School of Dentistry; and other dental students and staff members.
In addition to Scouts needing care for orthodontic interventions, the dental crew also helped out adults in need of care, such as a crown or fillings falling out.
“The dentists and students working the dental clinic there have done a great job of managing any urgent dental needs,” said Dr. Kassar.
For more information, visit monchd.org.