ROCKLAND - The Camden Rotary Club, in partnership with Rotary District 7790, recently presented a grant of just over $2,500 to Knox County Dental Clinic to purchase supplies for a dental program that provides free or reduced-cost care. We caught up with clinic staff and administrators and asked how the grant monies had been used to help the dental clinic.

Alison Gaeth is the dental hygienist at the Knox County Dental Clinic. The LED loupe light, purchased with the donated funds, help her to see inside a patient’s mouth with less strain on her body.

"It allows me to zoom right in," said Gaeth. "It also helps with posture because I'm not bent over trying to see inside a mouth. It happens to a lot of hygienists that they end up with back problems from being in a bent over position all the time."

Gaeth said the loupe lights are very pricey. And they have their own set of lights.

"The magnification affects your ability to see the light from a regular dental light," she said. "Having the light attached to it, it's magnified too, but bright enough to give you the ability to see really well."

Gaeth says the goggles allow her to see right down into a patient's mouth without being right up in their face.

Knox County Clinic Executive Director Meredith Batley said the donation took place in mid-December.

"It helped pay for the loupes, which we wanted because we want to provide the best patient care," she said. "We also purchased sealant equipment, which is very specific to children's dental care."

Gaeth said that sealants put a protective cover on the tops of the back teeth.

"That area is particularly hard for kids to brush and clean well, and it plays an important role in preventing cavities, so it makes a much smoother surface and easier to brush."

Gaeth said the plastic sealant is hard to smooth down.

"With the funds we were able to buy tools that help smooth down the sealants, especially with small children who like to wiggle. After the sealant is applied it can make the bite seem kind of funny, so the equipment helps smooth it down to where it feels more natural."

Batley said the dental clinic sees primarily adults for now.

"This last year was the first year we had taken kids into the dental program," she said. "We increased Alison's hours to three days a week and we are working with all the nurses in the school system to make sure they know this is available and we are now seeing families."

Batley said they are trying to raise awareness about the clinic and have recently gone into elementary schools to help with their programs.

Though the dental clinic works on the same principal as the Knox County Health Clinic umbrella in taking people who are under insured or without health insurance, the dental clinic works slightly different.

"In the dental clinic we will take uninsured and people on Medicaid or MaineCare," said Batley. "Traditionally there are a lot of kids on MaineCare. Currently there are no dentists accepting MaineCare, so it is essentially the equivalent of being uninsured."

Batley said the clinic does not have a staff dentist, but works with volunteer dentists from around the county. They also pay the Waldo County Dental Program in Belfast to see their patients at $60 per patient visit.

The clinic is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The application to apply for the program is online at knoxclinic.org. The cost is $20 per visit for adults, and $5 for children.

Batley said they couldn't thank the Rotary enough. She said they have always been very supportive of the organization over the years, but this donation was a big one.

Reach Chris Wolf at news@penbaypilot.com.