'Life-changing for so many' United We Smile celebrates start with floss-cutting ceremony

Elizabeth Brewer, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Aug. 26—TRAVERSE CITY — After less than six months of construction and millions of dollars in funding, the United We Smile clinic is ready to officially open after Labor Day.

On Friday evening, board members, state elected officials, dentists, United Way employees, donors and community partners gathered at the new dental clinic for a special floss-cutting ceremony with the Delta Dental Foundation.

United We Smile's director of health initiatives, Jennifer Kerns, said this is a lifelong dream fulfilled.

"We are so excited to make this happen," she said during the ceremony. "This is the way we're going to fix access to care."

The clinic will be open Monday through Friday, offering dental care to children, pregnant women and those with cognitive disabilities four days a week, with Fridays reserved for local veterans.

The care will be provided by local dentists, University of Michigan third- and fourth-year dental interns and Northwestern Michigan College's dental assistant students. University of Michigan will provide transportation and housing to all of their interns as part of this program.

Many other local, state and national organizations came together to offer resources, including US Department of Agriculture Rural Development, United Way of Northwest Michigan, Delta Dental Foundation, Delta Dental of Michigan, Veteran Affairs of Northern Michigan, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians with a gift of 2% grant money, and others.

State Reps. Betsy Coffia, a Democrat for the 103rd district, and John Roth, a Republican from the 104th district, offered United Way of Northwest Michigan Executive Director Seth Johnson a tribute from the state.

"As someone who grew up in a family that worked very hard but couldn't always afford access to dental care, this is particularly meaningful to me," Coffia said. "This is going to be life-changing for so many people."

Roth said he's heard from his constituents that dental care is needed in the area.

United Way data backs that up, showing more than 62,626 children from newborn to the age of 17 in the 10-county region. Roughly two-thirds of that number — or 44,184 — live in households that struggle financially.

Almost half of the children from the region are on Medicaid, and approximately 40% of these children in Benzie and Manistee counties have never received dental care.

Another statewide report from the United Way showed that, before the pandemic, about 420,000 Medicaid-eligible children had never received a basic dental screening. The report noted that number is probably much higher now.

With this new clinic, Kerns said, they will be able to see up to 60 patients a day, or 300 a week.

In Northern Michigan, NMC's Director of the Dental Assistant Program Beckie Wooters said she hopes her partnership with the clinic will inspire more people to become dental assistants.

"Currently, our enrollment is down so that's another thing right now we're trying to work on," she said. "There's such a huge need for dental assistants in our area right now — and lots of jobs."

Today, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., they are hosting a community open house so the public can see the clinic in the Copper Ridge medical offices in Grand Traverse County.