Author: Char Ladyman, CME, Family Services
Community Minded Enterprises (CME), EWU Department of Dental Hygiene, and CHAS are partnering to relaunch the Recovering Smiles program.
Recovering Smiles connects clients in recovery to oral health services. CME will aid in identifying potential clients and giving space for orientation to the program and expectation setting. Dedicated CME staff will be working with the first cohort of five patients. Recovering Smiles will serve up to 10 patients in the next six months. EWU students will provide screening and hygiene care and refer patients to CHAS for more acute needs requiring a dentist. CHAS has a dedicated staff to schedule Recovering Smiles patients, making the process smooth at each step.
The students at EWU Department of Dental Hygiene provide services. Students are able to see and experience more challenging cases while providing excellent care. Services are limited to periodontal, including some or all of the following:
Comprehensive exams
Three levels of cleaning
Fluoride treatment
X-rays
Sealants
Fillings (silver and tooth-colored)
This relaunch of Recovery Smiles has been in the works since November 2022. CME has received $18,800 from Arcora through Smile Spokane Opioid Anchor funding. This grant will fund staff time for a CME staff to identify and support clients on this dental journey. This funding also provided Narcan for EWU and CME and personal protective equipment for EWU.