Celebrations

The past few days have brought moments of celebration. On Friday I went to the Dental Therapy and Advanced Dental Therapy Community Forum, featuring the first class of dental therapists to graduate from Metropolitan State University -- but more importantly, the first to graduate in the WHOLE United States.  Starting the first of anything in the country is not an easy job, and many of my colleagues have worked very hard to make this a reality.

Why is such a program needed? Well the Pew Center on the States reports that 16 million children do not get dental care. That is like 3 Minnesotas! This obviously doesn't include disabled adults who can't get to a dental offices, elderly in nursing homes who need an adjustment in their dentures, or persons without dental insurance that simply can't afford dental care.

Dental therapists are found in nearly many other developed countries, but frankly the Dental Associations have always opposed the institution of this kind of dental health professional in the United States -- despite the fact many go with out dental care.

Through great work on the part of safety net organizations and skilled lobbyists, the law in Minnesota was changed in 2009 and the first class of students entered this graduate program. Early this year the Minnesota Board of Dentistry approved this program. That's what led to this celebratory forum held at Normandale Community College. The dental classes are held here because this community college has a dental clinic as well as specially equipped classrooms for preparing dental hygienists and now dental therapists.

The meeting room for this event was about as far as it could be from the parking lot and the door where one entered the buildings. The dental hygiene students decided to do something about this and we were all greeted this way:

Students in their blue shirts saying, "MnSCU makes history 2011" lined the way to the conference room. (MnSCU means Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.).

The room was lined with statements from the dental therapist students reflecting on their feelings after learning the Board of Dentistry has approved the program.

Among other speakers we heard Senator Al Franken.

He was introduced by a dentist who met him at a coffee shop while he was campaigning. She asked him to do something about dental access, and said "One year later I was in Washington, D.C. testifying at a committee about dental access." Senator Franken spoke about the introduction of Dental Therapists into the Indian Health Service in Alaska. These first dental therapists in the IHS received their education in New Zealand.

The whole afternoon was just a wonderful time.

And before I arrived, I stopped by my tax office and signed my forms and got the good news that I'm getting a refund. The trick actually is to give away enough money, but I'd rather use it causes I care about than pay the money in taxes.

And today I got my usual emergency phone call at noon. The river is expected to crest in the middle of coming week at about 19.2 feet. I truly think it will be higher for as I write it is now gone over the 18 foot mark.

Either the crest is going higher or it will come sooner, but no longer it is it expected we will need to evacuate. Below is a picture from the web cam, a repeat of one I posted earlier. I thought the light was better in this one, taken today, March 27 just about sunset.

Tomorrow morning I plan to take a long walk and look at things again with my own eyes and camera.