Boston University not only helps the Chelsea Public School District educate its students, but it has started helping keep their smiles bright as well.
Last May, the Goldman School of Dental Medicine opened the Chelsea School Dental Center, which offers another option for Chelsea students who would usually not be able to afford dental care.
“A lot of patients have never seen a dentist ever,” said Jennifer Soncini, the center’s director. “We provide dental care to students who didn’t have access to dental care and have been looking for a Dentist in my area.”
SDM Community Health Programs Director Michelle Henshaw said the center is just another “piece of involvement” for the BU-Chelsea partnership, which began in the late 1980s.
All of the program’s costs, including staff salaries, are paid for by SDM, according to the organization’s website. Center staff all work part-time and include a pediatric dentist, a general dentist, a dental hygienist and two dental assistants.
“In the next couple of weeks, others will work at the center,” Soncini said. “They are going to start in dental school and are interested in community service.”
The center is located in a nurse’s office at Williams Middle School that has been converted into a dental facility. Center staff do routine dental treatments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Soncini said. The center’s hygienist does cleanings and X-rays on Wednesdays.
The one site offers free basic dental care to all of the city’s public school students, she said.
“All basic dental care, preventive care, sealants, simple fillings are provided,” Henshaw said. “With anything serious like root canals, students need to be referred.”
Soncini said she is in the center every Tuesday and Friday afternoon.
“I average about seven kids per afternoon … 25 students per week, more or less,” she said.
The program is part of the BU-Chelsea Partnership’s general effort to safeguard the health of Chelsea students, according to the partnership’s website.
“Students who have inadequate nutrition, dental problems or other health problems suffer needlessly and must overcome a learning disadvantage,” the website says. “The partnership has made a strong commitment to promoting comprehensive health care, including dental and mental health.”
Average daily attendance at the Williams school has improved for the second year in a row, a tenth of a percentage point away from the target of 95 percent attendance, according to the BU-Chelsea Partnership’s 2003 Legislative Report.
“Some students have such advanced dental problems – they are in pain and can’t do homework,” Henshaw said. “There is a link between oral health and participation in class.”
Massachusetts has also passed legislation allowing the partnership to continue for another five years until June 2008, according to the report.
“This has strengthened the relationship of the Chelsea Partnership,” Soncini said. “There has been lots of praise for the center. It has worked in a positive way. People believe that BU is doing a really good thing with this center.”
The center is tiny and busy, serving more than 2,000 students each year, according to the SDM’s website. But Soncini said she is enthusiastic about the program and hopes the partnership with Chelsea will continue to progress.
“My experience has been absolutely awesome,” she said. “I have very well-behaved patients – they always come to their appointments.”