Treasa Bryant, 38, is a single mother who lost her job at Kindred Hospital in Mansfield when the facility closed last fall.
While she was raising two sons, Bryant put off her dental care needs. Then, she found out she has breast cancer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not really that it wasn鈥檛 important, it鈥檚 just sometimes when you only got so much, you try to work in what really matters first,鈥� Bryant says. 鈥淎nd getting to the doctors, getting the boys what they need for school, is more important than worrying about my teeth at the moment. You gotta do what you gotta do.鈥�
There is one bright spot: Bryant has Medicaid, meaning she now gets free dental care at the in Mansfield.
For the last 15 years, students from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry have helped staff the clinic through the .
Fourth-year dental students are required to work 50 days in various clinics throughout the state, focusing on under-served communities.
鈥淲e see people from all walks of life,鈥� says Dr. David Hoag, who supervises the students at the clinic. 鈥淧eople who have had horrible tooth pain and avoided the dentist and now they鈥檙e back and we have no choice but to pull a tooth. We see people who never learned to go to the dentist and they wait until something hurts.鈥�
Hoag is an Ohio State dental graduate; just eight years ago, he worked here as a student himself.
鈥淭he relationship that we form with the patients are great. Managing expectations is a huge part of our job,鈥� Hoag says. 鈥淲e get to see a lot of people who would otherwise go to the emergency room. So we鈥檙e diverting emergency room visits, which are very costly.鈥�
Dr. Canise Bean, director of OHIO Project, says the program offers valuable experience for students.
鈥淭hey do get a chance to treat patients that they would not ordinarily see in the dental clinic here at OSU,鈥� Bean says. 鈥淭hey also have an opportunity to interact with different cultures. They often times work with interpreters at some of these locations.鈥�
The Ohio Department of Health reports dental care remains the number one unmet health care need for children and at-risk populations. According to state health officials, 45 percent of Ohio adults do not have dental insurance.
Nationwide, 74 million Americans lack dental insurance, about three times the number who don鈥檛 have health insurance. As Chasing The Dream , failing to see a dentist regularly leads to lost wages and job opportunities, as well as increased chances for other health issues.
Since OHIO Project鈥檚 founding, about 1,700 dental students have treated 151,000 patients. The dental students performed 354,000 procedures and provided more than $17 million in dental services.
Bryant says she鈥檚 experienced more problems with her teeth since she underwent chemotherapy treatment, and has since found out she has several cavities.
She says she doesn鈥檛 know what she would do without the clinic.
鈥淚t would be not so great,鈥� Bryant says. 鈥淭hen where do you go to get your teeth fixed? I mean, it鈥檚 very expensive. So it鈥檚 nice to be able to come here, and even if you don鈥檛 have insurance they go by your income, so you鈥檙e still not footing the whole bill.鈥�
Dental student Elissa Rosner says working at the clinic has made her more efficient.
鈥淚鈥檝e been learning on getting a lot quicker,鈥� says Rosner. 鈥淚n the school, we have like 3.5 hours per patient and here it鈥檚 45 minutes. So, it鈥檚 been really great learning how to speed up and work quicker, but still work efficiently and do a great job.鈥�
Among the procedures Rosner gets to practice: teeth extractions, which she says are pretty common here.
鈥淪ome patients haven鈥檛 had a lot of preventative dental care where they know how to like take care of their teeth,鈥� Rosner says. 鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 been to the dentist in a while or are scared to come in and by the time they do, there鈥檚 nothing else you can really do for their teeth.鈥�
Patients appreciate that the is open Monday through, Friday and they can walk in if they have an emergency.
Shelia Conley, 66, recently drove 15 miles to the Mansfield clinic for a front tooth filling.
鈥淚 have to come back,鈥� Conley says. 鈥淚鈥檝e got a lot of cavities. I have to have fillings.鈥�
Conley, a retired assembly-line worker, was long overdue for a visit: She hadn鈥檛 seen a dentist in 30 years.
