Many children in rural Iowa lack reliable, regular access to dental care.

A project through the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry’s provides free dental care for many of them.

According to the Iowa Data Center, almost 36 percent of Iowans live in rural areas.

Dan Caplan, creator and director of project SEALED, said it began as a biannual volunteer project, but has since turned into a mandatory program for all third-year dental students.

“It became mandatory for a couple of reasons,” Caplan said. “One had to do with scheduling. When I originally thought of the project, I thought we could just go on days off, but dental students don’t have too many days off, and it had to be on a school day. So we had to coordinate schedules between when the students had time available and when students in school were there.”

Another reason why the project became mandatory, Caplan said, was for its success in providing services. SEALED stands for service, engagement, and life/career education in dentistry.

“The first year was so successful the faculty at the College of Dentistry decided they wanted to incorporate more dental students,” he said. “They really couldn’t do that without making it mandatory.”

Irwin Redlener, the president of the Children’s Health Fund, said nearly half of preschool-aged children have never been to a dentist before. The Children’s Health Fund provides healthcare to children and families nationwide through the use of mobile clinics.

“Insurance is the key issue,” he said. “Children without dental insurance are least likely to get preventative dental care and more likely to have unmet needs for oral health services.”

Redlener said the population of children without dental insurance includes a disproportionate amount of children who are poor, are minorities, or live in rural areas.

Amy Tarr, a third-year dental student whose participated in Project SEALED, said she agreed with Redlener’s idea many rural children are in need of dental care.

“At the schools with a diverse population, the majority of kids are only seen by a dentist when Project SEALED comes to them, and many of these students didn’t have dental insurance,” she said.

Caplan said another reason dental care is so hard to come by in rural communities is because many dentists do not accept Medicaid because the insurance does not cover the entire cost of the dental services.

“Not every dentist takes Title XIX for Medicaid,” he said. “So, there aren’t too many dentists up there in the local county kids without health insurance can use.”

Brandt Bergman, a third-year dental student, said SEALED program was the only chance for many children in these rural communities to get dental care.