CRAIG HOCKENBERRY: SMILE, we are getting a Dental

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Avatar of Craig D Hockenberry.

CRAIG HOCKENBERRY: SMILE, we are getting a Dental

Cincinnati, OH, USA
CRAIG HOCKENBERRY: SMILE, we are getting a Dental Clinic. By Craig Hockenberry As I entered my last year as the Principal of Oyler School our great team had much to be proud of we had created the nation’s most exciting community learning center that included mental health, tutoring, daycare, medical services, food services, after school programing, college access, and much more. Unfortunately, I was not satisfied. There was a major missing component inside of Oyler. We had about 800 student’s grades PRE-K-12 and more than 80% of them had NEVER been to the dentist. When the kids smile you could clearly tell that tooth decay, cavity and gum disease were apart of who they were. It was sad situation and had a huge negative impact on student achievement. In early August of 2012 I walked by the staff lounge and placed a sheet of paper on the outside of the door that said Oyler Dental Clinic coming soon! Every day I walked by it gave me motivation to start the work to create the regions first dental clinic inside a public school. I made several calls to several dentists and worked closely with Darlene Kamine and others involved with the community learning center model. Each day we would hold tours and meetings with local politicians, potential funders, dentist, health care professionals, and key district leaders. The days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and within ten months of putting up that sign we had carpenters at Oyler drilling and constructing a small dental clinic that would serve our entire student body. The model included students getting regular check-ups, cleaning, and preventive work to avoid serious health conditions related to dental issues. We scheduled them into the clinic around their core academics and had top quality resource coordination (Jami Luggen) supporting the clinic and their needs. It is operating a high level of efficiency and the entire concept was a huge win for the students and families of Lower Price Hill. Craig Hockenberry
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Published: Feb 17th 2021
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