Commercial fishermen and dental professionals working together
have provided 10 years of dental services for those who
could otherwise not afford care in the San Juan Islands.
An All-New Dental program
in Friday Harbor
Starting in April of 2024, Fish for Teeth is hosting a Community Dental Clinic four times a year. This is done through a collaborative effort between Friday Harbor volunteer dental professionals, San Juan County Health and Community Services, and the Northbound ACH-LIN funded by the Arcora Foundation.
These one-day dental clinics will be conducted four times a year, twice in the spring and twice in the fall, with local dental professionals volunteering their time to provide care. Our first year's schedule of this new program is as follows:
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April 20, 2024; Saturday
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June 1, 2024; Saturday
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September 20, 2024; Friday,
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November 8, 2024; Friday
-- Fish For Teeth --
A Friday Harbor Phenomena
Fish for Teeth started in 2007 after a nine year old girl showed a Friday Harbor commercial fisherman her mouth full of cavities. Since then Fish for Teeth has provided over 1,000 trips to the dental chair for those who could otherwise not afford the care.
Through 2012-2023, the Medical Teams International mobile dental van served well over 1,000 patients. The early years utilized a 100% volunteer force of local dental professionals and caring community members; Fish for Teeth shouldered all of the cost, holding Fish Taco fundraisers, with direct donations from the community filling the funding gap. The later years of the dental van were subsidized through grants, with Fish for Teeth providing a smaller percentage of the funding for this expanded, County-wide program.
The County-wide program brought
very good results, as seen below:
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2021: 390 patients seen in 36 days of dental van clinics across San Juan County with $199,000 of dental services provided (141 patients on SJI, $83,746 of dental services).
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2022: 423 patients seen in 36 days of dental van clinics across San Juan County with $251,227 of dental services provided (160 patients on SJI, estimated $95,000 of dental services).
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2023: 399 patients seen in 35 days of dental van clinics across San Juan County with $260,058 of dental services provided (163 patients on SJI, $114,074 of dental services).
Our Community Dental Clinics are expected to maintain these numbers. Most patients will be from San Juan Island, but anyone from San Juan County is welcome to come to the Fish for Teeth clinics in Friday Harbor.