You Make Smiles Merry & Bright

This time of year is a great time to show your support for a nonprofit doing good work in the community. Here at OHP, we are always grateful for every gift we receive. Our team could not accomplish everything it does without support.

Here are some of the projects we accomplished this year with your help!

Thank you to everyone that supported our Siegler Clinic!

A new dental clinic

Early this year we opened our 5th clinic. Since we were moving into a previous dental clinic, it didn’t need too much in the way of renovations. But the clinic we moved into was a specialized dental clinic, so what we did need was equipment.

It was through donations and grants that we were able to equip our new clinic with new sensors for x-rays, a Nomad hand-held x-ray machine, dental handpieces (tools that can remove tooth structure or smooth and polish through their rotation speed), curing lights (tools that set fillings and sealants), and software updates to match the rest of OHP operations. And before the end of the year, we will have brand-new dental chairs installed!

Healthy teeth, one classroom at a time

Our School-Based Program can sometimes be a complex moving of parts. We visit around three schools a week but sometimes stop at as many as five. Many days we have three different teams working, sometimes at different schools. Though we have seven schools in Green Bay that have permanent spaces for us to treat kids, at most schools we bring our equipment in, set up a treatment area, and take everything with us when we are finished.

All the equipment and equipment transporting can get expensive. Donor support for this program has helped us keep moving and keep kids smiling! This year, thanks to support from Nancy & Scott Armbrust, Jack and Engrid Meng, David L. & Rita E. Nelson Family Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, and others, we were able to replace some older equipment and purchase cavitrons (a tool that uses high-frequency sound waves to clean teeth. Very helpful to clean calculus, or plaque that has become hard, off teeth), and M9 Sterilizers.

Brighter smiles are a marathon, not a sprint

Sam Van Straten is a junior in college studying science and business to prepare himself for dental school and the ultimate goal of making a difference in the health and lives of people in his community. This fall, Sam ran his first marathon and he made OHP the beneficiary! Through GoFundMe and reaching out to others for their support, Sam raised enough for a Nomad portable x-ray machine for our School-Based Program!

A Nomad is instrumental in our School-Based Program because it enables the dentist to take and read x-rays right on location. The x-rays can show issues that might be missed in a screening without x-rays. If there are certain dental issues, some will be taken care of right there at school. More complex issues will need for the kids to come into one of our clinics for treatment.

Sam has also stopped by OHP during school breaks to volunteer and shadow in the clinic. This helps out by giving us an extra set of hands, plus he gains experience and knowledge for his future in dentistry. We are excited to see all the wonderful things Sam will do for the community in the future!

Thank you for an amazing 2022!

We are so grateful for everyone that supports OHP! Whether through volunteering, donating, or being a vocal supporter in the community. Every little bit matters and together we are making a difference in children’s lives!