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Dental clinic speeds services LMC opens operating room for indigent By ANDIE LEATHERMAN, LTN Staff Writer Jan. 28, 2002 - A preschooler’s mouth is filled with decay; some teeth need filling, others must be removed. Sedation is required to get the teeth fixed, a procedure that used to mean a months’ long wait to visit an out of county hospital’s operating room. Today, the work can be done quickly right here in Lincolnton. In October, Lincoln Medical Center opened its operating room to Lincoln Dental Health Services, a non-profit indigent dental clinic. The dental clinic pays half the standard operating room fee, allowing it to serve two to three children every week. Pediatric dentist Dr. Cordell Scott spends Fridays filling and extracting teeth and installing crowns. Most of his patients are two to four years old, needing an average of eight teeth fixed. Sometimes teeth must be pulled. “For very young children basic dentistry is more than they can handle,” Scott said. Patients suffered painful abscesses, risking infection. Often, the problems decreased the child’s appetite. Scott approached the hospital about letting him use the operating room after 30 of his patients were on waiting lists for hospitals in Statesville, Hickory, Shelby and Charlotte. “It was a real problem. It was months before some could be treated,” Scott said. Operating rooms often stay booked. Impoverished, out of county children were not a priority. “Operating room time is precious,” When the wait was up, the families often found the trip out of town difficult. Many struggle with transportation. With the child under sedation, procedures go quicker. Scott estimates it takes one-third the time when the young patient is under anesthesia. LMC purchased equipment for Scott to use in the operating room. “For a non-profit indigent dental clinic $6,000 is a lot of money,” Scott said. Many of Scott’s patients’ problems result from poor hygiene and nutrition. Younger patients are sometimes sent to bed with a bottle or carry one around all day. In the office, he and his staff work on education. The clinic serves children birth through age 18. Smart Start funding covers children up to age five. Medicaid chips for older kids. Mentally handicapped children are covered through age 21.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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