Upgraded, state-of-the art Smile Express mobile unit introduced at reception

Nov. 1, 2024

Upgraded, state-of-the art Smile Express introduced at reception

MORGANTOWN, WV — Members of the community got the opportunity to tour and learn more about Monongalia County Health Department’s new, custom-made, state-of-the-art Smile Express mobile dentistry unit during a reception on Friday afternoon.
The $500,000 Winnebago commercial chassis that carries a two-operatory dental office with all the bells and whistles was delivered in September and has already been out on the road for visits to area schools and recovery centers.
The new vehicle replaced the 2005 retrofitted RV that has been used since Smile Express was launched in September 2018.
“Our work is as needed as it was back then,” said Tiffany Summerlin, a registered dental hygienist and the Smile Express coordinator. “A lot has changed since 2018 in the world and also in dental care, but so much has stayed the same.”
Summerlin noted that the opioid crisis as well as more grandparents raising grandchildren has impacted the Smile Express program because it changes the dynamics of taking children for dental care.
She addressed Jim Smallridge, the director of community development, and CEO Todd White, both of Aetna Better Health of West Virginia, which provided the funding for the new mobile unit.
“Your support has enabled us to do important and compassionate work and it is making a difference to a wide variety of your neighbors,” Summerlin said.
Smallridge, who met Summerlin two years ago when both served on the executive board of directors of Mountaineer Food Bank, also spoke.
“A lot of people don’t consider the importance of dentistry to general health,” Smallridge said. “It’s not just teeth. It’s also about preventing heart disease. And there are also the psychosocial effects, especially when you are working with people in recovery. When people see them in a different light, they see themselves in a different light.”
Other reception speakers included Sam Chico, president of the Monongalia County Board of Health, Anthony DeFelice, executive director of Monongalia County Health Department and Dr. Youseph Kassar, program director of MCHD Dentistry, which oversees the Smile Express program.
“As you know dental health is important to overall health and it is our mission to ensure everyone has the opportunity to receive the dental care they need,” DeFelice said. “The new mobile unit is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and staffed by skilled professionals who provide quality dental care.”
Just as with the original vehicle, Smile Express 2.0 features digital X-ray equipment, including a panoramic and software that allows Smile Express providers to communicate in real time with a dentist back at the health department.
As for upgrades, “There are almost too many to name,” said Summerlin before listing some off. “A wheelchair lift to accommodate any patient of any ability, drag wheels to allow us to safely traverse hilly parking lots without losing our rear end, audio/video entertainment options, a custom sterilization center with two autoclaves, backup and side view cameras and much more.”
Smile Express allows MCHD Dentistry staffers to go out into communities and provide care to those without a dental home. Currently, Smile Express has memoranda of agreement with boards of education in four counties: Monongalia, Marion, Harrison and Wetzel. A newer focus has been recovery centers, including Wise Path in Westover, the WVU Center for Hope and Healing, and most recently Valley Health Care System in Fairmont.
For the recovery center visits, patients with insurance or Medicaid can be billed, but the program has been awarded a $51,000 grant from the Monongalia County Commission Opioid Settlement Fund too.
“This will allow us to meet the comprehensive needs of many individuals without having to worry if we have exceeded their allowed benefit,” Summerlin said.
Since the program began six years ago, Smile Express has recorded 2,000 student visits, and in the past year and a half, 250 recovery center patients have also been seen.
When patients are treated on Smile Express, all insurances, including Medicaid, can be billed.
“We offset charges for individuals who have financial hardship,” Summerlin said.
The new “Smiley” was an empty box on top of a Winnebago commercial chassis that was then designed into two dental offices by ADI Mobile Health in Tualatin, Oregon.
Summerlin’s connection to Aetna’s Smallridge is a key factor in the new Smile Express’ story. “Some of you may know, if I have a chance to talk about Smile Express, I take it,” Summerlin said. “In those few blips of conversation with Jim, I must have made an impression, because when Aetna Better Health of West Virginia was poised to provide some financial support for tackling health disparities, Jim thought of asking me if we could put that money to good use.”
During his remarks, Smallridge referred to Summerlin’s background in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“When a female Marine brings this to you, you stop and listen,” he joked.