Mobile Dental Clinic Treats 'Mountain Dew Mouth' Eastern Kentucky [View All]

[RamboLiberal]

Dr. Edwin Smith, of Barbourville, Ky., is on a mission to save the teeth of Eastern Kentucky's children.

Four years ago, he invested $150,000 of his own money to build a mobile dental clinic, Kids First Dental Care, inside an 18-wheel truck.

Several days a week, he criss-crosses the curvy roads of 16 eastern Kentucky counties to offer free dental screenings and services to hundreds of students. Most children dread the dentist, but those who line up outside Smith's van are often giddy with anticipation. For many, it's the first and only dental check-up they'll have for years.

"It's a generational thing, I think," said Smith. "Grandma had dentures, mom had dentures, it's just inevitable that I'm going to end up with dentures, is the way some of these kids feel. I really believe we have to do a better job educating." Smith says he's seen firsthand the results of neglect among these children. Teenagers have pulled their own teeth with pliers because of tooth pain, and he's treated 2-year-olds with up to 12 cavities in their baby teeth.

It's a stereotype rooted in a terrible fact. Central Appalachia is No. 1 in the nation in toothlessness. According to dentists, one of the main culprits is Mountain Dew soda. With 50 percent more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi, Mountain Dew seems to be used as a kind of anti-depressant for children in the hills.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6863173&page=1

20/20 is running a special tonight on the children of Appalachia.