AARP Purpose Prize Alumni Newsletter

Dr. Adele Della Torre was invited to write a newsletter article for The AARP Purpose Prize Alumni Newsletter:

Ready Set Smile is a community-based organization whose mission is to improve the oral health of children through school-based onsite dental services and classroom education. RSS partners with 27 Minneapolis schools (preschool through 8th grade) that serve high numbers of children without access to dental care.

Our work has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, but this health crisis has also given us clarity on the importance of our mission. The pandemic has amplified the racial inequities throughout our nation and my home city, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Further, the site of George Floyd’s killing is just blocks from Ready, Set, Smile’s office and so we are acutely aware of the heightened issues resulting from racial tensions in the community. We are pleased that Minneapolis has become an epicenter of a growing wave of racial justice awareness. I cannot help but connect the health disparities that our nonprofit fights with the hope that rises from our community’s actions to combat COVID and racial injustice.

Most people are unaware that dental decay is the most prevalent chronic childhood disease and is concentrated in children who lack access to preventive dental care. In fact, research shows that 80% of decay occurs in 15-20% of our children, almost all of whom live in poverty. Although children rarely die from dental infections, dental decay is one of the most common reasons for missing school and is therefore a disruptor of an afflicted child’s education. Our data confirms these facts, as 56% of the children seen in our schools have active decay at their first visit with us. Dental decay is a disease that is 100% preventable, but the systemic barriers to access dental care make good oral health difficult to achieve.

What does a school-based portable dental clinic do when schools are closed? We pivot.

● We are seeking alternative sites in institutions such as community centers, daycare centers, congregations, teen-parent programs and teen homeless shelters.

● A local orthodontist has loaned us his office to serve children on the two days each week it is not in use.

● We are piloting setting up our portable clinic in our current office space for the children in our immediate neighborhood.

● We are pursuing designation as a Telehealth provider in order to provide oral health education to families and schools.

● We will modify our traditional clinic schedules to accommodate school hybrid scheduling.

Although these alternatives require a dramatic shift from our school-based model, we believe that the spirit of our mission requires that we continue to bring dental care to children in locations where they feel comfortable. A child’s oral health is critical to their self-esteem, their ability to thrive and to have a future of good health. Each of us do what we do best to purposefully improve our world.

The pandemic has forced innovative solutions. We are an organization that heals our community. Our solutions to this health disparity are simple. Good oral health impacts a child’s ability to learn, to smile, to nourish and improves the future of their overall health. Focus on what you do best to purposefully improve the world.