TROY — The Miami County Dental Clinic has unveiled its new Traveling Smiles van presented by Upper Valley Medical Center/Premier Health.
Traveling Smiles portable dentistry is an outreach program of the Miami County Dental Clinic. The program provides preventative and restorative dental care for children in Miami County who do not have a dental home and may participate in the program in their school setting. The program eliminates the transportation barrier and reduces the financial barrier, enabling children without insurance or assistance to be treated regardless of their ability to pay. The program was originally introduced in 2012.
“We are beyond grateful for the partnership with Upper Valley Medical Center and for their generous donation to ensure that our program and staff are able to continue to serve the dental needs of the children residing in Miami County,” said Stephanie Silk, executive director of the clinic. “Oral health is the window to a person’s overall health, and we are committed to providing quality oral health care and education to the children in our county, which will hopefully result in a lifetime of proper oral hygiene and dental care practices.”
“We also are grateful to others involved with making this new van possible, including Paul Sherry Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Jess Nielsen with The Olivine Design Studio, Yipes Stripes, and Kaffenbarger Truck Equipment Co.,” Silk added. “And we are appreciative for the ongoing support of our many donors. Our programs would simply not be possible without them.”
“We thank the UVMC Board of Directors for providing the funding for this important new vehicle,” said Tom Parker, president of UVMC. “It reflects our ongoing commitment to partnerships that support the Premier Health mission of building strong, healthy communities. We have a long tradition of partnering with like-minded organizations as we seek to fulfill that mission. And we take great pride in being closely aligned with highly-regarded community entities such as the Miami County Dental Clinic.”
The Miami County Dental Clinic, located at 70 Troy Town Drive, began in 2008 with a mission to provide quality dental care and oral health education in a safe, compassionate and accessible environment to low-income, uninsured, under-insured patients.
For more information on the Miami County Dental Clinic and the Traveling Smiles program, visit www.miamicountydental.org.
