A grant of $10,000 has been awarded by the Helen S. Boylan Foundation to the Dental Hygiene Clinic at Missouri Southern State University to enable the group to be the first in the area to offer a free oral health prevention program for adults who are patients at the Community Clinic in Joplin. The patients of the clinic who are primarily from Jasper and Newton counties will be provided with dental radiographs, cancer screenings and cleanings.

While the Community Clinic currently sees adult patients for extractions of teeth and provides preventative care (fluoride treatments and sealants) for children, the funding has not been present for under served adults to receive preventative care.

The announcement of the grant has come form Dr. Julia Skidmore with ADC Dental Group in Joplin. She serves as a volunteer dentist at the Community Clinic and a dental hygiene pathology professor at the Dental Hygiene Clinic at Missouri Southern.

I am honored that the Foundation found enough value in our program to fund it, Skidmore said. The amount of funding is incredibly generous and with it we will be able to minimize dental caries, gingivitis, and periodontitis in adults, which are some of the most prevalent and expensive diseases for our community.

The Community Clinic will set up appointments for adults to receive preventative care at the Dental Hygiene Clinic, which has more equipment and more time for the preventative services and can gain a more comprehensive picture of the state of the patients full mouth. The grant also will provide participants with passes to access the city of Joplin's Trolley to take them from the Community Clinic to the Dental Hygiene Clinic for care.

The Joplin Community Clinic is located at 701 S. Joplin Ave., just southeast of Seventh Street. To contact the clinic for an appointment phone (417) 624-5500. Clinic hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mondays to Fridays.

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