Training dentists. Increasing access to care.

Ten-year-old Ryker Heatherly likes school. Ryker likes his cat. Ryker likes dinosaurs.

Ryker does not like the dentist.

Or rather, he didn’t like the dentist.  

“He’d never been to the dentist except for when they come to his school,” said his mom, Brandy Wolford. “They didn’t explain anything to him; they just dove right in.”

Keira Ankrom and the team at the Miami County Dental Clinic (MCDC) changed things for Ryker.

“Dr. Keira, she was so patient with him, so kind,” Wolford said. “It was like she was showing her own child. She took him under her wing and said, ‘Let me show you. This is what we’ll be doing.’ Step by step by step. I felt like I was part of the family and so did my children.”

The OHIO Project

MCDC has been serving western Ohio since 2008. More than 9,000 active patients come from places like Troy, Piqua, Covington and Bradford.

Ankrom – or “Cool Dr. K” according to Ryker – and the team at MCDC are able to see as many as 30 patients a day, 500 a month, because of the support she receives from the OHIO (Oral Health Improvement through Outreach) Project, an initiative run by The Ohio State University College of Dentistry.

Fourth-year dental students spend a minimum of 43 days at private practices, health departments, hospitals and mobile dental units to get firsthand experience with patients.

Since it began more than 20 years ago, the OHIO Project has provided $25.5 million in dental services around the state, resulting in 210,000 patient encounters and 510,000 procedures.

“With the OHIO Project students coming in, I see three times the patients,” Ankrom said. “That’s huge to me because we are having a great impact. We’re helping more people with the OHIO Project students here.

“If it wasn’t for the OHIO Project students, Miami County Dental might not even exist.”

Ankrom, a 2017 Ohio State dentistry graduate, participated in the program as a student.

“One of the great things about Ohio State and the College of Dentistry is that every dental student participates in the OHIO Project,” she said. “We go to different sites all across the state. … You’ve already seen patients in the clinic at school for a year. So, you’re easing into that step of being out of school.”

In addition to performing hygiene checks, fillings, extractions, root canals and more, students also see how varied dental patients can be.

“A lot of our patients come from a variety of backgrounds,” Ankrom said. “They might be unhoused, they might come from an abuse shelter, they might be a veteran, a single parent, you name it. There’s a story behind probably every single one of our patients. And it really does impact you. I hope it impacts the OHIO Project students for the better.”

The clinic occasionally sees incarcerated people. Ankrom’s goal is to treat everyone the same, no matter what.

“It’s important to not change your approach based on who’s sitting in the chair,” she said. “… That’s not always easy but it’s always important.”

Making dental care accessible

Approximately half of the clinic’s patients are uninsured. MCDC provides dental care on a sliding scale, putting it within reach for the first time for many. Ankrom works hard to balance care and cost, she said.

“It’s tough because you have to be mindful, ‘Does this person have insurance?’ We don’t only offer things that we think they could afford or not afford. That’s not how we approach treatment. We give them all the options, and we have conversations with them: ‘What is your goal? What is our plan?’

“We might not be able to do a crown right away, but we can still get a really good filling on there and we can get you in and keep on top of things with cleanings until we can work towards that crown.”

“Without them, I don’t know where I would be at with getting treatment for the boys,” said Wolford, Ryker’s mom. “I’d be running all over the place trying to find a dentist. I’d be pulling out my hair.”

One of the things that Wolford appreciates most about MCDC is the communication between dentists and patients.

“I always ask a lot of questions. I want to know what’s going on with his care, what they’re doing, what’s the next step? And they’re right there. They’ll tell me, ‘OK, this is what we’re going to do here. This is what we’re doing today, and this is going to be the next step.

“She’ll give me his next list of appointments. That way, I know step by step. That way I can plan it out and be ready.”

Changing lives

Ryker, Wolford and her older son, Travis, are all patients of Ankrom’s now. The dental care they’ve received has been transformative for all three.

“Ryker? It’s boosted his confidence,” Wolford said. “His teeth, his smile, everything.”

The same is true for Travis, Wolford said. In family photos, “he’d keep his lips closed. Now he smiles and shows off his pearly whites. I’m so proud of it.”

This type of change is something that Ankrom is thrilled to be part of.

“Making a change for people is honestly my biggest goal,” she said. “I just love Brandy and her family. I could give them hugs every time I see them. That’s how far that connection has come and that’s how I approach all the dentistry that I do.

“If these OHIO Project students, if they can take a little bit of that empathy with them into whatever practice setting they go into, that would mean the world to me. It would mean not only did I do my job taking care of the patients, but I did my job helping a future dentist be the best they can be.”