Ronald McDonald
Care Mobile®

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, fondly known as “The Tooth Truck”, provides dental treatment and prevention education for at risk children in Springfield with little to no access to dental care.

Help us give children back their smiles.

Thousands of children in our area suffer from lack of dental care. It affects their health, their speech and their school attendance. They suffer pain and embarrassment.
Ronald McDonald House Charities® and The Tooth Truck, Inc. are addressing this need with the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, fondly known as “The Tooth Truck.”

Since its debut in Summer, 2002, more than 12,500 children have been treated through nearly 33,000 dental appointments valued at over $7.3 million. That’s more than 12,500 children who have started toward a happier childhood. Many had never been to a dentist, and most required around three return visits just to correct their dental problems. “The Tooth Truck” provides treatment for approximately 16 children per clinic day.

Why the need is so great.

• Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease. Five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever.(1)
• 52% of six- to eight-year-olds already have tooth decay.(2)
• 71% of Missouri dentists do not accept Medicaid patients because the reimbursement rate for their service is so low.
• One-third of six- to eight-year-olds with tooth decay go without treatment. Almost 80% of tooth decay in poor children is untreated.(3)
• Approximately 9,024 of the 24,000 Springfield student enrollment who participate in the free or reduced school lunch program do not have access to dental care.(4)

How does the Tooth Truck program work?

Thousands of low-income children have no transportation or means to acquire care. “The Tooth Truck” removes those barriers. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile visits the schools. School nurses identify Medicaid-eligible children and/or kids in the free or reduced school lunch program with the biggest needs.

80% of our focus is on second- and sixth-grade students. These are critical years in tooth development, providing the greatest opportunities to educate and encourage children to incorporate oral hygiene into their daily routines. The other 20% is focused on children in other age groups with acute dental needs.

“The Tooth Truck” provides a full range of dental services, including x-rays, cleanings and sealants, root canals and fillings. With oral hygiene education accompanying treatment, we aspire to prevent tooth decay, the number-one chronic childhood disease, one child at a time. Our dedicated dozens of volunteers provide additional one-on-one support for children. They greet children and accompany them to and from their classrooms. They teach each child about oral hygiene and calm fears of children new to dental care. They even help with homework or teach a craft, providing true one-on-one time.

1 Oral Health Initiative: A Report of the Surgeon General, May 2000
2 Oral Health Initiative: Children’s Health Insurance Program
3 Oral Health Care Availability and Access: A Crisis for Missouri’s Children
4 Springfield Public Schools Department of Health Services