Dentaltown November 2017 - 96

A mural overlooking downtown by local artist Chris Anderson
depicting the history and the future of Muscatine. The mural
represents the city from the river to the industry present.

Which states
are looking
for dentists?
To find a complete list of
Loan Forgiveness programs,
organized by state, go to
adea.org and under the
Advocacy pull-down
menu, select "State Loan
Forgiveness Programs."

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NOVEMBER 2017 // dentaltown.com

patients; and patients receiving health
insurance through state-funded dental care
insurance programs.7)
Perhaps the largest incentive for young
dentists is the repayment of their school loans,
but the FIND Project also has partnered
with the Iowa Area Development Group to
help dentists secure no- or low-interest loans
to support a practice purchase or startup.
The program was established in conjunction with current partners Delta Dental
of Iowa, the University of Iowa College of
Dentistry and Dental Clinics, the IADG,
the Iowa Department of Public Health,
Aureon and the Community Foundation
of Greater Des Moines.

The program's benefits
to the communities
* Growth factor. Without quality health
care providers and systems, communities
can fi nd it difficult to attract and retain
the businesses and professionals that lead
to growth. Knowing this, Community
Foundation of Greater Muscatine and the
Muscatine Health Support Foundation collaborated with the FIND Project to support
the initiative that funded my participation.
* Stanching "retail leakage." Retail
leakage occurs when residents spend money
outside of the community they live in. If
consumers travel to a different city or town
to see a dentist, they'll likely also visit
restaurants and stores on their trip, which is
income not spent in their community. That
"dental visit" will likely have a larger impact
than just the dollars spent at the dentist.

A lion at Muscatine's Zoo Garden overlooking the Mississippi River
in historic Weed Park. The Zoo Garden has multiple animals that
celebrate the zoo that was once present at the site.

* Community dental health. Eighty
percent of tooth decay occurs in only 25
percent of the child population,8 and a large
majority of cavities are in children who are
underserved.
The American Association of Dentists,
the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists
and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that a child's first dental visit occur
by age 1 or when the first tooth erupts,9,10,11
because early dental screenings have been
shown to reduce the cost of future dental
treatment.12 If children can be evaluated for
decay before any cavities have the chance
to develop, it provides an opportunity to
educate parents on the risk factors for the
development of future decay.13,14 Cavities
are for the most part preventable, but the
most predictable indicator of future decay in
children is the presence of decay early on.14

My history with the project
I first heard about the Iowa FIND Project
while I was a student at the University of Iowa
College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics, which
organizes many events related to mentorship
and career development for students. The
FIND Project had only been around a few
years but already was a success; the previous
recipients who spoke at the university praised
the program and discussed their love for the
communities they served.
Toward the end of my final pediatric
dental residency program at the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental
Medicine, it became time to plan. There
were many opportunities to become an
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown November 2017
