Northwest Smile Center outlines school outreach, charity care and plans for a dental RV in Sherman County

Representatives of the Northwest Smile Center (Rollins County Dental Clinic) told the Sherman County Board of Commissioners about their school outreach and mobile services and described funding and operational needs for expanding care.

Deb (no last name given) said the clinic has operated under a doing-business-as name, Northwest Smile Center, to reduce confusion about its nonprofit status while fundraising for a new building. She reported the clinic made multiple visits to Sherman County schools in 2024' including 10 visits to one site, two visits to a preschool program and three visits to Head Start'and provided preventive services and screenings. The clinic reported total costs to come to Sherman County over the described period of roughly $26,500 and cited charity care of about $31,000 for services provided free to families in need.

Deb described the clinic's goal to operate a dental RV that could deliver preventive and restorative care on-site. She said the RV can perform fillings and extractions with portable equipment and a generator, though reliable Internet is needed because the practice is cloud-based. The clinic reported it is qualifying for certain Kansas tax-credit donation programs and has about $30,000 in tax-credit-eligible funds to spend before June; it plans to continue fundraising and apply to foundations and local counties for support.

Why it matters: The clinic serves children and Medicaid recipients in Sherman County; expanding mobile services could reduce travel barriers to dental care in rural areas.

Details from the presentation

- Outreach: The clinic provided school-based screenings (reported 686 school screens mentioned in materials) and visits to preschool and Head Start.

- Costs/funding: Approximate cost to bring clinic staff to Sherman County over the period was $26,500; charity care written off was about $31,000. The clinic accesses foundation grants and Kansas tax-credit incentives for capital funding.

- RV capability: The RV can perform fillings and extractions for children and adults using portable motors and a generator; the main technical hurdle is reliable internet for cloud-based records and x-ray uploads.

Commissioners thanked the presenters; no formal funding motion was made at the meeting. The clinic said it will pursue form-fillable digital enrollment forms to improve school outreach response rates and plans to hire another hygienist to meet demand.

Ending: The commission accepted the informational packet and thanked the clinic for its services.