Scenic Bluffs granted new equipment for sealant program

Scenic Bluffs dental hygienist Joni Mellem (left) and assistant staff travel with sealant equipment into the schools. (Contributed photo)

Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers has purchased new equipment for an outreach dental prevention program, Wisconsin Seal-A-Smile (SAS), which it joined in 2011.

A statewide sealant program, Wisconsin SAS offers yearly grants to local school-based dental-sealant programs. SAS is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) through state general-purpose revenue and a grant from the Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation.

The program has grown over the past three years to encompass more students in more school districts, according to a press release prepared by Scenic Bluffs, which is slated to visit four school districts this year: Sparta, Cashton, La Farge and Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton.

After three years’ experience, Scenic Bluffs decided the only way to keep the program efficient and successful was to upgrade the dental equipment to allow for more care, according to the press release. With this in mind, Scenic Bluffs applied for a Venture Grant through the local Great Rivers United Way.

United Way awarded $7,600 toward the purchase of additional dental traveling equipment.

Joni Mellem, a dental hygienist for eight years at Scenic Bluffs, said, “This equipment is needed because it will allow faster and more precise evaluation when we are in the schools, when working with hundreds of children every minute counts.”

Mellem, along with dental assistants, will be one of the providers who will travel to area schools to examine kids and place sealants.

She added, “This program is so important because it increases access to so many families; parents no longer have to interrupt their day for a routine preventative procedure.”

Last year more than 168 students were reached through Scenic Bluffs’ sealant programs, and that number is likely to increase this year, the press release noted.

According to the press release, “Scenic Bluffs is happy to be part of the SAS program because we can assure follow-up dental care for all participants at our centers. Any child participating in SAS with Scenic Bluffs is welcomed into Scenic Bluffs’ dental practice. It is an innovative way of enacting Scenic Bluffs’ mission of increasing access for all.”

For more information on the Wisconsin SAS program or Scenic Bluffs’ school-based healthcare, call 654-5100 or send an email to info@scenicbluffs.org.

United Way awarded Scenic Bluffs $7,600 toward the purchase of additional dental traveling equipment. (Contributed photo)

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