St. Ignatius THHS Dental Clinic has new dentist on board

By B.L. Azure

Dr. Joseph Trujillo recently joined the THHS dental staff at the St. Ignatius THHS Clinic. (B.L. Azure photo)

ST. IGNATIUS — The Tribal Health and Human Services Dental Clinic here continues to ramp up its dental services and its promotion of dental care education and preventive services.

“We want a comprehensive dental care program, not just drill and fill services,” said THHS Director Kevin Howlett, adding that he is still recruiting dental professionals to staff the THHS dental clinics in St. Ignatius and Polson. When fully staffed the THHS dental clinics will have five dentists with appropriate dental support staff and 13 dental chairs with the ability to treat eligible patients from babies to elders. A big part of the dental program is the dental health education.

Joseph Trujillo recently came aboard the THHS staff and is working in the St. Ignatius Dental Clinic.

The 29-year-old Trujillo, whose family lives in the Jocko Valley graduated from Missoula Hellgate High School and he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Montana. He then earned a doctorate in dental surgery at the University of Minnesota.

“I wanted to get into the medical field and dentistry is a good fit for me,” Trujillo said. “It is a profession that enabled me to come back home and earn a living in Montana.”

Trujillo said that working at Tribal Health and Human Services is also a good fit for him.

“Every day provides a surprise for me, there is always something new happening that provides a challenge,” he said, adding that he enjoys working with his patients and developing a relationship with them.

Trujillo strongly recommends dental education and preventive care as well as overcoming the trepidations of visiting the dentist. Dental education and proper care is one way to ease trepidations and lessen reactive dental care needed for dental problems.

“Most people wait to come in, until they are in pain, that’s a big issue,” Trujillo said. “Proper dental education and care can prevent the small problems from becoming large ones.”

Trujillo recommended that parents seek out information about proper dental care and apply that to their children, the sooner the better.

“Parents should bring their children in as early as possible,” Trujillo said, adding that 18 months is a good age to start with regular dental check ups. “Don’t wait until it is an emergency. Bring them in for a check up, regular check ups so the dentist can establish a relationship with them under less stressful and painful circumstances. I recommend a check up every six months. That alone is a really good way of preventing small things from getting extensive.”

The St. Ignatius THHS Dental Clinic also has a dental hygienist on staff. Cyndi Marengo works two days in Polson and two days in St. Ignatius. On Wednesdays she does community outreach work. She too is an advocate of education and preventive care, especially among children. She recommends flossing and brushing teeth at least twice a day; three times a day is preferred.

“A lot of children’s food fare contains hidden sugar content. Fruit juices may seem like a healthy alternative to sugary soda products but many of then have high sugar content that parents may not be aware of,” Marengo said. “Sugary and salty snacks also negatively affect tooth and gum health. Advanced tooth decay in children is almost completely preventable”

Marengo has worked for THHS for a year and a half. She said people could schedule her to get information, assessment of dental health and a regimen of preventive care. She recommends dental exams every six months.

“We can keep on top of children’s dental health with regularly scheduled visits,” she said. “Then, hopefully we can ward off major problems by catching them early and when a child is still young.”

She said an important component of caring for the children is to establish a non-threatening relationship with them.

“With the young children, my advice for parents is to bring them in when they’re little,” she said. “I will play with them, interact with them. Show them the clinic; let the sit in the dental chair. Let them feel the dental experience so the next time they come in they will see us and know we are not trying to hurt them. The initial contacts are very important in establishing a trusting relationship with them.”

Marengo said young children should be weaned off bottles and sippy cups as early as possible. “They bathe teeth constantly in sugars,” she said. “Even milk contains natural sugars.”

She said she is always checking for signs of diabetes that can negatively affect dental health.

“We are always on the lookout for diabetes because of its general detriment to good dental health,” Marengo said. “Diabetics have a hard time because of the infections in can cause. You (diabetic patients) really don’t want to deal with mouth infections. It’s better to keep sugar intake under control and practice preventive dental care. That’s where education comes in.”

Marengo was raised and educated in Polson. She received her dental hygienist degree at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. She had to go out of state because of the lack of dental hygienist programs in Montana when she started her dental education. Prior to coming to work for THHS she worked 14 years in the private sector in Connecticut. She said it is good to be back home and that her family still resides in Polson.

“This has been a good career choice for me and I really enjoy what I do, especially the Wednesday outreach program,” Marengo said, adding that private practice dental clinics don’t have such programs. “I always wanted to work in the healthcare field but I didn’t want to get into a profession that had to deal with death. This affords me that.”

Marengo said she hopes to work at the THHS dental clinics until she retires.

Rhonda Durglo and Rochelle Allison also work at the St. Ignatius Dental Clinic.