A Dental House Call : Santa Ana Elementary Students Get Free Tooth Care Without Leaving School

Dentist Harris Done had traveled through the poorest sections of Mexico and Central America for almost 25 years providing free dental care to local Indians when a patient here alerted him to another region that needed help: Orange County.

That was four years ago, and since then, Done estimates, he has provided dental care to 4,000 elementary and high school students throughout the county. For many of the students lying on the makeshift operating tables--school desks--it is their first visit to the dentist.

On Saturday, Done and more than half a dozen dentists and dental hygienists were busy numbing gums and filling cavities for about 225 elementary school students from Santa Ana. Done estimated that the dental workers at Heninger Elementary School doled out up to $30,000 worth of care for free.

“Conditions aren’t quite as bad in Orange County because the kids are exposed to fluoride,” said Done. But he added that “prevention is the most important thing with kids this age.”

Done said that while the dental care provided Saturday was first-rate, the conditions may have seemed Third World.

The makeshift operating tables were arrayed in the school’s multipurpose room, and the tools were powered with a portable generator. To help the dentists see better, volunteers held flashlights over open mouths.

While those conditions did not seem to bother many of the children, some did succumb to the age-old fear of the dentist.

Ten-year-old Elidiana Armenta sat down in the chair waiting for a shot of Novocain, only to surrender to her fear at the last moment.

When officials told Elidiana’s mother, Ofelia, that her daughter did not want the cavity filled, Ofelia Armenta replied that the family did not have the money for dental work.

Officials then set out to persuade the fifth-grader to get her cavity filled, and calmed her with deep-breathing exercises designed for women about to give birth.

After getting her shot and filling, Elidiana wasn’t talking. But when asked whether she’ll ever eat sweets again, she shook her head no.

Ofelia Armenta said this was her daughter’s first visit to a dentist.

The organization that provided Saturday’s dental work is formally known as Ayuda, which is Spanish for help. Six workers were provided by the state-run Teeth 4-Ever program.

The four dentists who volunteered their time, including Done, were from Orange County and Hollywood. Done lives in San Clemente.

About $800 worth of supplies, such as anesthesia and drill bits, were provided by the Santa Ana Unified School District’s Healthy Tomorrows program.

School board trustees Rosemarie Avila and Tom Chaffee have opposed the publicly funded program because they oppose making the schools the hub of social services. They also say such programs make people dependent on the government.

Avila, however, said she is not opposed to private organizations such as Ayuda donating their time because tax dollars are not used.

Done noted that the amount of public money being used was minimal, and added, “Why is it bad for the government to be involved? The government should help a little too.”