LLU School of Dentistry - Dentalgram, August 2000

Large grant will benefit county's children

by Christy K. Robinson

Dr. Carla Lidner

The Children and Families Commission of San Bernardino County has awarded $914,997 to be used for dental education and dental services for children aged 0-5, in San Bernardino County. Carla Lidner, SD'90, MS, assistant professor of dental educational services and director of the oral oncology clinic, and Charles J. Goodacre, SD'71, MSD, dean of the School of Dentistry, had submitted a grant proposal to the Commission.

The funds are from the Proposition 10 tobacco tax, and are being awarded to hospitals, child help agencies, day care centers, churches, and others, to improve the well being of children who are too young to qualify for school based programs.

Yiming Li, DDS, MSD, PhD, professor of restorative dentistry, and Arlene Glube, RDH, dental coordinator for San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, assisted in writing the grant proposal. Ms. Glube will continue as a consultant for the grant, and Dr. Lidner will work with the Department of Public Health for assistance in case management and tracking of families. In addition, Marilynn Heyde, DH'74, MPH, will coordinate dental education throughout the county at various sites, including the high desert. Ron Forde, SD'83, assistant professor of restorative dentistry and director of service learning at the School of Dentistry, will provide training to general dentists throughout the county to improve their skills and willingness to treat young children.

Dr. Lidner, mother of twin girls born last November, has been working for several years to lay the groundwork for a dental education campaign aimed at lower income parents and small children, called "Clean At Night." She wants to teach parents about the benefits of saliva in a clean oral environment and the re-mineralization of teeth that can occur if one goes to bed with a clean mouth.

"It's cheap, it's easy, and it has no side effects," says Dr. Lidner. The grant will provide monies for this kind of teaching program and provide monies for direct dental treatment services for poor children throughout the county.

"One person who really should be thanked for this money is someone from our own faculty who lobbied long and hard to get the taxation imposed on tobacco products in this state, James Nethery [SD'65, clinical director of the oral oncology clinic and assistant professor of restorative dentistry]. It is largely because of his effort that we even have this money available to do these good things for poor children," says Dr. Lidner.