Elizabeth Wehlage, a registered dental hygienist with the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, told attendees at See, Hear Iola about dental health in rural communities.
Wehlage grew up in Humboldt and attended the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Wehlage said many times patients will wait until their teeth start bothering them before they will make an appointment.
Seeing a dentist at that point can require extensive work, she said.
“We try to work with the prevention aspect,” Wehlage said, targeting areas before they become a problem.
Effective prevention starts at a young age. Wehlage is able to visit schools, women and children’s clinics and Head Start to educate people and do screenings.
“I’m able to do dental screenings at schools,” Wehlage said. “Whether the child has regular cleanings or not they still are eligible.”
Dental hygiene might change in the future. Wehlage said the state is trying to push for a dental hygienist practitioner. It would be similar to a nurse practitioner, who can ease a physician’s case load by seeing patients and using the physician for guidance.
“There are not a lot of dental providers coming to rural areas,” she said. “It gives us the ability to fill in the gray area and we would have more expanding services.”
John Brocker, local real estate agent, said there are 41 homes currently listed for sale.
Heather Curry, Chamber member, said the Iola Municipal Band Concerts will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday on the square. More Chamber events can be found at www.iolachamber.org.
