The City of Portland's  Children's Oral Health Program recently  had an opportunity to share the success of their  Just Take One project. Vaneesa Woodward (on left) and Barbara Yeboah and  traveled to Denver to present at the National Oral Health Conference.

After seeing a huge unmet need for restorative care among the children in their school based dental clinics they  were inspired to develop Just Take One, an idea modeled after a California program of donated orthodontic services.

The program matches children in acute need of dental care with dentists willing to donate services and/or bill MaineCare.  The Oral Health Program acts as a facilitator and case manager, making the process as simple as possible for both patient and dentist. It has been a rewarding experience for all involved according to Barbara Yeboah, "we have had 15 dentists participate and they have found the experience very rewarding, and of course the children and families are very happy."  read on.