Archive for category: Dental

By Catherine Rice, Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Health Partnership Clinic (HPC) is proud to announce that two of our dental professionals were awarded Excellence in Oral Health awards recently. Nader Rastgoftar, DDS, Dental Director, known by patients as “Dr. Nader,” received the Outstanding Dentist Award and Christina Cook, RDH, Outreach Coordinator, the Outstanding Dental Hygienist Award.

 The awards were presented by Oral Health Kansas’ board president Sonja Armbruster and board secretary Dr. Nick Rogers at their annual conference. Both Dr. Nader and Ms. Cook received their respective awards for going beyond the call of duty and their commitment to better oral health for all Kansans.

Nader Rastgoftar, DDS

For Dr. Nader the idea of working in the healthcare field started with a severe broken wrist in 2003, the same year he migrated from his home country of Iran to the United States. Requiring emergency surgery on his wrist, Dr. Nader witnessed firsthand how a healthcare provider can leave a positive and lasting impact on a person’s life. Because of his doctor’s excellent care and positive bedside manner, his wrist healed with full functionality. This eventually propelled the young engineer toward a whole new career—dentistry.

Several years later, Dr. Nader enrolled and was accepted to UMKC School of Dentistry and soon discovered that the manual dexterity, problem solving and artistic aspect of dentistry to be very similar to his previous experience in engineering. After graduating in 2015, he immediately started practicing as a general dentist at HPC, a federally qualified health center in Olathe, Kan. He was later named Dental Director in 2021.

Dr. Nader brings a unique perspective to oral health. As an immigrant himself, he understands the importance of access to care in vulnerable populations. The immigrant population is especially at higher risk of developing dental and periodontal diseases. The clinic serves a high number of immigrants and those who are uninsured. Besides English, he also speaks Farsi, Turkish and some Thai, Arabic and Spanish, which often helps patients feel more comfortable and at home. Dr. Nader strongly believes that providing high quality, culturally competent and accessible dental care to everyone, regardless of his or her ability to pay, not only makes a difference in that person’s life but also elevates the overall health and wellness of the community.

Over the last couple of years, Dr. Nader has been on the front lines of COVID-19… often uncharted territory. He has shown exceptional leadership and helped implement several capital improvements to the Dental Department to protect patients and staff while navigating ways to provide quality and safe dental care during a pandemic. While most dental services were suspended due to COVID, Dr. Nader and his colleague triaged and evaluated dental emergencies and provided treatment when needed. When he assumed leadership responsibilities in 2021, he immediately focused on restarting services and supporting the staff.

Dr. Nader continues to build a strong culture among his team while balancing job resignations and welcoming new staff. He has accomplished the hiring challenge by ensuring new hires bring with them a thirst to learn and a positive attitude. The technical skills are teachable, but a person must be able to demonstrate and live the mission. There is no better example than Dr. Nader. With a servant’s heart, he values both staff and patients, brings a high level of humility and is always there, listening and caring for all.

Over the last year, Dr. Nader restarted dental services in Ottawa, Kan. twice a month, providing needed dental access to children living in rural communities. In addition, the clinic’s school-based portal dental program has been rebooted. Last calendar year, the Dental team screened and provided fluoride treatments to thousands of children at more than 20 Title 1 schools in the Olathe and Shawnee Mission School Districts. Children without dental homes are encouraged to follow up with Dr. Nader at the clinic. Under his direction, dental services are also provided at Shawnee Mission West High School at the clinic’s school-based clinic in Overland Park, Kan.

In addition, Dr. Nader and his team work tirelessly to support uninsured children experiencing severe emergency dental pain associated with abscesses, broken teeth, severe toothaches and other emergencies. The clinic provides both preventive and restorative care to children and young adults. About 25 percent of pediatric dental visits involve emergencies. Dr. Nader and his team are always looking at ways to address the needs of children’s oral health.

Dr. Nader strongly believes educating parents and children about proper oral care habits—from an early age—is vital to their overall health. Prevention is always better than the cure, he always says. He and his team attend community health events to help educate parents and children about the need for brushing, flossing and eating right.

This summer, Dr. Nader and his staff attended the Olathe Public Schools’ Back to School Community Outreach Event. The Dental team provided 38 dental screenings and fluorides and identified seven painful abscesses, which Dr. Nader was able to write orders for antibiotics and follow up appointments were made. The impact: Seven children are now ready to start the school year off, pain free!

Last year, Dr. Nader advocated expanding the Dental Department services to include porcelain bridges for adult patients. His first case of a three-unit porcelain anterior bridge was completed in February 2022. The patient’s life was transformed. Prior to the procedure, she wore a fabricated three-unit basket metal bridge which was uncomfortable and unsightly. Today, she feels more confident and loves her new smile. The impact is priceless.

Dr. Nader’s welcoming environment extends to foster parents and children. Many children who visit the clinic are on the Autism Spectrum and often have sensory issues. It is often difficult for them to tolerate someone probing around in their mouth. But Dr. Rastgoftar and his staff have always been very sensitive to their needs and make accommodations whenever possible.

Besides providing dental care, Dr. Nader is a member of the executive team and an active member of the clinic’s Quality Improvement Committee, putting the priorities of the clinic’s Dental department in focus. He continues to develop and update policies and procedures to ensure safety and quality.

Away from the clinic, Dr. Nader enjoys spending time with his wife and three young boys and loves grilling, watching football, fishing and gardening.

Christina Cook, RDH, Outreach Coordinator

Helping patients become a healthier version of themselves is a driving force for Christina Cook, RDH, Outreach Coordinator, who serves as a registered dental hygienist at HPC.

Since becoming a dental hygienist in 2009, Ms. Cook’s commitment to improving oral health, reducing oral disease risk factors such as smoking or vaping and addressing poor nutrition, lack of access to oral health care and oral hygiene education and the need to incorporate oral health early in the development of children, has never faltered. It has only grown stronger.

Ms. Cook joined HPC in October 2019 just months before the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. She came with a solid background working in a school-based setting and was looking forward to jumpstarting the clinic’s School-Based Portal Dental Care program. However, the pandemic threw a curve ball, and all dental services were temporarily suspended. But Ms. Cook stayed positive and knew in her heart that the clinic would eventually need her expertise.

With the introduction of vaccines and lowering infection numbers, the CDC and American Dental Association, announced the return to onsite dental care. Upon her return to the clinic, Ms. Cook set into motion the steps needed to help restart dental services and to be ready when schools welcomed back onsite dental services. As the Outreach Coordinator, she was the key lead in developing a return plan to the schools, ensuring the clinic was meeting the new needs and requirements of the school district, interfacing with school and health care administrators, nurses, parents and patients.

Last school year, Ms. Cook saw 6,000 youngsters in more than 20 schools and, on average, identified six patients per school with dental emergencies. Her supervisor says she has revolutionized the way the clinic is now able to provide services to the school. And school nurses agree.

A school nurse at Fairview Elementary School in Olathe, Kan. recently sent a letter writing how grateful she was to everyone associated with Health Partnership’s dental services and for totally changing the landscape of dental care in the community and making a phenomenal, positive impact on the dental health of children and families. She also called out to Ms. Cook. “I want to specifically thank Christina…for her excellent communication, effective and flexible plans and procedures, commitment to reduce workload for nurses dealing with COVID and the relentless, empathetic interventions to provide screenings and dental care for families. It was absolutely amazing!”

Ms. Cook’s intuitiveness is so appreciated by school nurses. Her gentle reminders, patience and wonderful assistance in scheduling and conducting the screenings make the process easy and fast. Her professional excellence and kindness have truly impacted the community and the future is much brighter for those children.

In addition to 20 elementary schools, Ms. Cook provides monthly dental services at Shawnee Mission West High School, Health Partnership’s school-based health clinic in Overland Park, Kan. As more staff is hired, it is anticipated additional services will be offered.

Her strong work ethic, patient care skills, knowledge and experience have made a huge difference at the clinic. She can work harmoniously with others and is honest, dependable and incredibly hard-working. When there was a lull in patient care during the pandemic, Ms. Cook volunteered to help paint the Dental Department—knowing it would be a more welcoming environment for patients. She is also a member of the clinic’s 30^th Anniversary Committee and has volunteer to attend health fairs and marketing events. In addition, she wrote two health blogs that were shared on the clinic’s social medial sites—furthering the messaging around preventative dental care. This giving heart is what makes Ms. Cook an asset to the organization.

Ms. Cooks’ rapport with patients is heartwarming, and they appreciate her kind and realistic approach to patient care. More than 94 percent of patients surveyed rate Ms. Cook and dental services provided as “very satisfied.” Ms. Cook understands that not all patients like going to the dentist. Some have anxiety about it, others have a more severe fear that makes them much harder to treat in such a short period of time. As a hygienist she knows that she must not only perform her job well and quickly but also make patients feel safe and comfortable. She takes this responsibility seriously and works tirelessly to ensure patients return to the clinic.

Ms. Cook is a true team player and always manages to foster positive discussion and bring the best out of not only her teammates but her supervisor as well. Her supervisor says that there is no project too large for her. Ms. Cook recently took the lead with an HRSA Capital Grant, allowing the Dental Department to purchase much needed equipment to the tune of $120,000. She rolled up her sleeves and developed a procurement process, aligned with our Finance Department, to include equipment specifications and bid reviews, vendor selections and recommendations for dental chairs for patients and staff. The process went smoothly, and all equipment should be arriving by the end of the fiscal year.

Both Dr. Nader and Ms. Cook have made a sustainable impact on HPC, exemplifies the mission of the clinic and have positively impacted the people served by Health Partnership.

By Christina Cook, RDH, ECP II, Dental Hygienist at Health Partnership Clinic

February marks Children’s Dental Health Month, and it’s an excellent time to think about prevention and starting healthy habits.

At Health Partnership Clinic (HPC), we understand the importance of preventing problems and not just treating problems when they arise and that is why we recommend oral hygiene habits begin prior to the first tooth.

Your child’s gums should be wiped twice a day with a soft, clean cloth in the morning after the first feeding and right before bed to wipe away bacteria and sugars that can cause cavities. This also gets your child accustomed to the act of cleaning the mouth and the feeling of a clean mouth. Once the teeth begin to erupt you can brush twice a day with plain water.

Children should make their introductory trip to the dentist when their first tooth appears or on their first birthday, whichever comes first. The first visit to the dentist is consider a “happy visit”. The purpose of this visit is to introduce them to the dental office, review hygiene habits, provide nutritional recommendations and perform a growth and development check. It is important that you follow the recommendations of the dental professionals because the enamel of the tooth (hard outer layer) is much thinner and softer on baby teeth, making them at greater risk of decay. Once a cavity starts, they can grow faster and lead to pain quicker than on an adult tooth. The good news is with regular checkups, a healthy diet and good oral hygiene habits cavities are preventable.

Tips for Preventing Tooth Decay in Children

• Brush the teeth twice a day using the correct amount of toothpaste based on the child’s age.
• Although children want to do things on their own, they are not able to do a good job brushing their teeth until they can tie their shoes and even then, they should be supervised until age 11.
• Many times, baby teeth have spacing which allows the toothbrush bristles to clean between the teeth. Once the teeth are touching it is recommended to floss once a day at nighttime to prevent cavities between the teeth. Your child will also need assistance with flossing until around age 11.
• My biggest nutritional tip I can give is limit sugary drinks and snacking. A small amount of milk and juice is okay with a meal, but plain water is recommended between meals. When choosing snacks choose whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts and cheese opposed to processed foods like chips, cookies and candies.
• Visit a dentist every six months to detect problems early and to prevent future problems. Also ask your dentist about Fluoride varnish treatments to strengthen the teeth and sealants to protect the chewing surface of the back teeth.

HPC provides dental services to children and teens and accepts Medicaid and other insurance plans. We also offer a sliding fee discount program for those who qualify.

To schedule an appointment, call 913-648-2266.

To learn more about our services, visit https://hpcks.org/our-services/dental/.

By Emily C. Day, DDS, Dental Director and Pediatric Dentist, Health Partnership Clinic

The American Dental Association (ADA) dedicates this month-long national health observance to bringing together thousands of dedicated professionals, health care providers and educators to promote the benefits of good oral health to children, their caregivers, teachers and many others. At Health Partnership Clinic (HPC), we join the ADA in educating families about the importance of regular oral hygiene.

This year’s slogan is “Water, Nature’s Drink!”

You may be wondering why so much attention would be given to water!

Water is something we have access to easily, you can drink it straight from the tap and in most cities, it contains fluoride, which is critical to the prevention of cavities in children.

A bigger danger to children’s teeth is if sweetened beverages are consumed instead of water on a regular basis. Juices, flavored milks, sports drinks and soda all contain large amounts of sugar, which when sipped on throughout the day can cause tooth decay. Bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities use the sugar from these drinks and convert it to acid that breaks down the tooth enamel, causing cavities that may be painful and that will require dental treatment to repair.

A simple way to prevent cavities in young children is to only offer water in between meals. Mealtime can be reserved for milk or small amounts of juice, both of which can be part of a healthy diet in the appropriate amounts. If you have questions about the appropriate amounts of milk or juice, speak with your child’s doctor.

Other tips for caring for children’s teeth include the following:

1. Tooth brushing with adult supervision. Young children lack the manual dexterity to position the toothbrush correctly on each of the tooth surfaces. By the third grade, most children can begin to brush their teeth independently, but still need an adult to monitor that all teeth were brushed.
2. Avoid sticky, chewy snacks that may get lodged in between the teeth. Foods like raisins, dried fruit, sticky and gummy candies, and crackers tend to become lodged in between the teeth and can cause cavities if not adequately removed with tooth brushing or flossing. Healthy snack options include fruits, veggies, yogurt and cheese.
3. It is recommended that children first see a dentist by their first birthday. This will ensure the child’s caregiver is equipped with the appropriate education to take care of the young child’s teeth, and this sets the stage to best prevent cavities.

How does HPC care for children’s teeth?

At HPC, our experienced team of licensed dentists and hygienists are passionate about improving the overall health of our patients through quality dentistry. We provide:

1. Professional exams, cleanings and X-rays to check for cavities in between the teeth and fluoride varnish applications to strengthen and protect teeth against cavity-causing acid attacks.
2. Diet and nutritional counseling to make sure your child is on the right track to stay cavity-free.
3. Customized oral hygiene instructions based on the age of child and any other special circumstances (for example, special tooth brushing tricks if your child has braces).

Many people are surprised to find out that cavities can be prevented! Just ask any member of our Dental department for tips and tricks to stay cavity-free!

To schedule a pediatric dental appointment, please call 913-648-2266. Pediatric dental services are offered at our Olathe and Ottawa sites.