Dental health and quality of life go hand in hand. Those who suffer from poor dental health endure a lifetime’s worth of physical and emotional difficulties, the least of which are chronic pain and insecurity. Because there is an acute shortage of dentists and dental health care providers on the Rosebud Indian Reservation[1] maintaining good dental health is difficult, if not impossible, for a great majority of the reservation’s population.[2] Most of the dental care that is currently practiced on the reservation is merely palliative, which means that tooth extraction constitutes the usual method of on-reservation dental care.
To address this situation, St. Francis Mission is in the process of establishing a dental clinic where volunteer and retired dentists and dental students will soon be providing badly needed services. In addition, we plan to hire a full-time receptionist/dental assistant. In order to build trust between the Clinic and the wider community, we will begin by providing basic services to young children.
Donation of equipment, supplies, time, and talent are greatly needed and appreciated. Help us make this vision a reality! To help support our programs click here. For more information e-mail.
[1]According to a 2008 report released by the South Dakota Department of Health, there is not a single dentist in Todd County. Cf. South Dakota Department of Health, Building South Dakota’s Heathcare Workforce (Pierre: South Dakota Healthcare Workforce Center, 2008) 3.
[2] The 2006 South Dakota Oral Health Survey compared American Indians to white non-Hispanic children; a significantly higher proportion of third grade American Indian children have decay experience (62% vs. 84%) and untreated decay (28% vs. 51%). Cf. South Dakota Department of Health, Oral Health Plan for South Dakota (Pierre: South Dakota Department of Health, 2009) 21.