September 1, 1998
Health and Wellness
11
Dental program increases services
members enjoy ease in scheduling
Oral surgeon
makes
monthly visits
By Kathleen Matthews,
Dental staff
The idea of a "Tooth Puller" stirs
up visions of whiskey-soaked men
with wild climbing beards yanking
teeth with a donkey In the past,
anyone with "gumption" could
hang a shingle announcing they
were a dentist. Well, we've come
along way in the last 80 years!
Oral surgeons, highly skilled
Doctors of Dentistry, have re
placed the "Tooth Puller," and the
dental department of the Grand
Ronde is proud to announce the
Oral Surgery program.
Dr. Broadbent, an oral surgeon
for the Indian Health Services
(IHS), lives in Utah and commutes
to Oregon monthly to provide sur
gical opinions for Grand Ronde
patients needing extractions. Not
only are his talented skills and
high-tech equipment a welcome
answer to patients desiring -a -specialist,
but his enthusiasm and
sense of humor tend to relax those
who might seem a bit nervous
about their visit.
People who are wary of den
tistry in general should start with
an exam and treatment plan. This
eases their way back into the sys
tem, especially if it's been a con
siderable amount of time since
their last visit.
Stop by and make an appoint
ment. Check out the new technol
ogy they don't use donkeys anymore!
f -v - i . . Z
x ' It"'' I
fcs -. - I - "2 v . 5
Linda Mann, RDH
(Registered Dental Hygienist)
. -
S . .' -
ill '
"' K
-"
, ; if
Office hours: Mondays - Thursdays
7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
By Tracy Dugan and Oscar Johnson
Eric Webster, DMD
(Doctor of Dental Medicine)
Office hours: Tuesdays - Fridays 7:30
a.m. to 6 p.m.
It's been over three years since Dr.
Eric Webster joined the dental team
for the Tribe, which was then oper
ating out of the Community Center.
A lot of things have changed.
It's nice having everything under
one roof," Dr. Webster says of the
new Health and Wellness Center.
"Everything is centralized."
An alum of the University of Mis
souri at Kansas City, Dr. Webster
wanted to work as an intern in Port
land after dental school. And when
Anthony Lucio, DMD
(Doctor of Dental Medicine)
Office hours: Mondays - Thursdays
7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A native of Chico, California, Dr.
Lucio graduated from the University
of California, San Francisco's dental
school the same year as his brother
who also works for an Indian clinic.
He began working at the clinic in
February.
Before moving to Grand. Ronde
with his wife who is a tribal member,
Sheila Blacketer, RDH
(Registered Dental Hygienist)
Office hours: Mondays - Thursdays
7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After graduating from Oregon
Health Science University in June,
Blacketer joined the clinic's dental
staff last month to meet the increased
need for cleanings, dental hygiene
education and nutrition. Before re
turning to school to complete her
most recent degree, the Salem resi-
"Prevention is my first love," says
hygienist Linda Mann, who works
with parents of small children to stop
tooth decay before it even starts. A
tribal employee since 1993, Mann
says she would do prevention activi
ties with tribal kids all day if she could.
In the time she's been here, she's set
up the Annual Roller Molar, tobacco
free kids club, and infant check-up and
screening program.
"I want parents to bring in their
babies right after they get their first
teeth," says Mann. "It's never too
early to begin brushing and prevent
ing cavities before they even start."
Mann and the dental staff just did
screening at the local Head Start and
noted that 38 of the children (three
and four year bids) have already ex
perienced cavities. ,
he came to the Northwest, he liked
everything about it. After accepting
a position with Indian Health Services
and working in Portland for a while,
Dr. Webster heard about an opening
in Grand Ronde. Now, three years
later, he and his wife live in Salem.
It was no problem for Dr. Webster to
get licenced to practice dentistry in
Oregon, and pretty much considers
Oregon home now.
And he couldn't be more pleased
with the new dental set-up at the
Health Center.
"This is a modern, up-to-date
clinic," he says. "We have the latest
technology. We all love it here, and
so do the patients."
he worked for Indian Health Services
at Chemawa Indian Health Center in
Salem and a similar clinic in New
Mexico.
Although he admits that Oregon
summers are too short for his liking,
he says he enjoys practicing in Grand
Ronde where the patients are nice and
the equipment and services are im
pressive. "Basic dental care is here for pa
tients to come in and use," says Dr.
Lucio. "In other areas people don't
have that opportunity."
dent worked for six years as a Dental
Assistant in Lincoln City.
In addition to enjoying working
with staff at her new job, she says
what she likes most about her pro
fession is that it is a welcomed alter
native to having to see a dentist.
"What I enjoy most about my work
is that its preventative," Blacketer
says. "When patients regularly come
to the hygienist it keeps them from
the dreaded drill."
A graduate of the University of Colo
rado, Mann has kids of her own, and
loves being around tribal children.
"I left private practice to work for
the Tribe, because my heart is in pre
vention," she says.
But the new Health and Wellness
Center has been wonderful for
Mann's other clients.
"I think the dental staff is seeing
more patients," she says. "Because
people come in for a medical reason,
they see the dental office close by and
it's easy to take care of everything in
one visit."
Also, an oral surgeon and orthodon
tist come in once per month to see
tribal members.
"Our staff all gets along really well,"
says Mann. "We all enjoy our patients
and getting out in the community."