Hartford Public School students are back to class, and for many of them that also means back into the dental chair. At the district’s dental clinics, they do everything from check-ups to fill cavities during school.
At the MD Fox School, hygienist Antonella Dellaripa is checking inside first grader Gabriel Scrugg’s mouth. She’s checking his teeth after summer vacation.
“I do their cleaning, I take their x-rays, I do an oral cancer screening, we do homecare which is toothbrush, flossing, all those fun things so anything they would do in a regular office I do right here in my office in school,” she said.
Here, seeing the dentist is as common as a visit to the nurse’s office.
“Two times a year they’ll have their cleaning and they’ll see the dentist as needed,” Dellaripa said. “Hopefully we try to keep them away from the dentist and they just have their cleanings but if they need to, she’s available do the full comprehensive care.”
Dental care is simply part of the school day.
“I contact the teacher and teacher will send them down at a good time and then I’ll see them and then send them right back to class,” Dellaripa said.
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“It’s amazing what they do here,” said Scrugg’s mom, Jessica Reyes. “Academically, it doesn’t take away from them going to the appointments. She’s very gentle. So he’s not scared. So I know that even if I’m not here he’s in good hands. He still at the school. It has a lot of benefits when you’re working mom.”
The clinic is funded by the state. The program has been around for 30 years, with 17 dental clinics inside Hartford Public Schools.
They provide care to all students, whether or not they have insurance. The goal is to prevent problems like cavities before they start, and to create healthy habits that continue long after kids are done with school.
“How often do you brush your teeth?” we asked. “Morning, in the middle of the day and then before you go to sleep,” said 5th grader Freddyel Montijo.
The clinic is open during school hours.
“I don’t have to make an appointment where I’m going to be there for I don’t have to make an appointment where I’m going to be there for like three hours, when she can do the job here in way less and sent him back to class,” said Reyes. “It benefits both of us it’s going to benefit him as well as me.”
