Listen in MP3 format

When a Springfield resident has no money, no dental insurance, and a toothache, there’s only one place where he or she can go: The Kitchen Dental Clinic. KSMU’s Jennifer Moore reports on how the clinic is struggling to get to all of the patients on its waiting list, and running on the backs of a few volunteers.

Sound: Phone ringing, Susan Blackard: “Dental Clinic, Susan.”

Susan Blackard is passionate about what she does. But then again, to do her job, you’d have to be. She’s the coordinator of the Kitchen Dental Clinic, and works exclusively as a volunteer.

“We see a lot of people whose teeth are black, and they’re broken off at the edges and are still hanging there,” she says.

All of the work here is done by a pool of about five or six dentists who donate their time and skills.

But it’s still not nearly enough.

Right now, the waiting list for people needing extractions is 508 patients long.

In fact, all they do here in the dental clinic right now is pull teeth. Blackard says by the time most patients make it through these doors, their teeth are badly decayed from years of neglect.

The dental clinic is an extension of The Kitchen’s medical clinic.

“All the patients, before they can come into the dental clinic, have to be an established patient and seen by one of the physicians or nurse practitioners to make sure it’s safe for us to pull their teeth,” Blackard says.

But becoming an “established patient” at the medical clinic is easier said than done. Right now, the only way to get your foot in the door as a patient is by coming back every morning until someone else doesn’t show up for his or her scheduled appointment.

Back in the waiting room, we find 41-year-old Angela of Springfield.

"I have a bad tooth and I’m needing some dental care. It’s very painful," she says.

She’s the face of America’s working uninsured. She says she holds a full-time job in the food industry. But her job doesn’t come with health insurance, and she can’t afford it otherwise. She’s also not eligible for Medicaid.

She came this morning to see if something can be done about the throbbing in her jaw. She says her tooth aches so badly she can’t concentrate on anything else.

Angela: They’re putting me on a list, and I’ve got an appointment to come back in a month.
Moore: So, have they told you how long that waiting list is?
Angela: No, I haven’t asked yet.
Moore: And so that’s another month for you to live with a painful tooth.
Angela: Um, maybe, I haven’t asked…they’ve got some prescriptions ready for me, some antibiotics, and I’m going to ask them then.

The Kitchen Medical and Dental Clinic survives solely on grants and donations. Susan Blackard says the waiting list for people needing dental care keeps getting longer.

She says the money just isn’t there right now to pay for a full-time dentist, so she’ll continue to rely on volunteers.

“We could sure use some more, so if any of you docs are out there wanting to be a blessing and give of your time and your talents to our community, we could sure use you. You can just call the Kitchen Clinic and ask to speak to Susan,” she said.

In the meantime, Angela and others like her will pop some more painkillers tonight and try to get some sleep, hoping that tomorrow they’ll get that phone call telling them they’ve out-waited the waiting list.

For KSMU News, I’m Jennifer Moore.

Related Items: