Head Start feels loss of dentist

By LYNNETTE HINTZE/Daily Inter Lake

The recent death of pediatric dentist Dr. Timothy Kramer left a big hole in the Flathead Valley dental community and has been an especially hard loss for Northwest Montana Head Start.

Kramer, a pediatric surgical specialist who died Oct. 31 in a vehicle accident, had seen more than half of Head Start's children since opening his practice a year ago.

"His moving to the community was a much-anticipated event," said Deborah Raunig, health-services manager for Northwest Montana Head Start. "He came to Head Start last year and did education using a stuffed animal. He was very good with children. Both he and his wife had worked with us."

Kramer's wife, Kimberly, is the office manager of his KiDDS pediatric dentistry practice.

Northwest Montana Head Start serves 234 children in five centers - at Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Martin City, Whitefish and Eureka. It's a federal program that promotes the economic and social well-being of children ages 3 to 5 from low-income families.

It's a requirement that all Head Start children have dental checkups within 90 days of enrolling in the program, Raunig said.

Prior to Kramer's arrival in the Flathead, Dr. Peter Nelson was stretched thin to treat Head Start patients, she said, especially given the recent rapid population growth in the Flathead. And some area dentists don't see Medicaid patients, she added.

Head Start officials now are regrouping, trying to figure out how to proceed with finding dental care for their young clients.

"We have some funds, not a huge amount, that would pay for some dental care," Raunig said. "We'll have to see."

At the time of Kramer's death, some children had scheduled appointments with him to have cavities filled, she said.

Kramer likewise had made a big impact at North Valley Hospital, where he recently had joined the surgical staff. Hospital spokeswoman Naomi Morrison said Kramer did six surgeries on children between 2 and 6 years old and had nine more scheduled. He began doing surgeries - all dental restorations - with North Valley in mid-October.

He used North Valley Hospital instead of his office to provide the children with anesthesia so the process wouldn't be so traumatic for them, Morrison said.

Donna Holland, surgical services supervisor at North Valley Hospital, said Kramer "just had a great plan. It's a huge hole that I hope we can fill."

MARY MCCUE, executive director and legal counsel for the Montana Dental Association, said Kramer's death has resulted in a great outpouring of support from the Flathead dental community.

"The response from local dentists has been phenomenal," she said, adding that Flathead dentists have contacted her for advice about how to keep Kramer's practice going.

It's a misnomer that Flathead Valley Medicaid patients can't get dental care here, McCue said.

"The Flathead has a significant number of Medicaid providers," she said.

During the past two years, 47 dentists and their staffs in the Flathead Valley have provided nearly $1.5 million in care through the state Medicaid dental program. In fiscal year 2007 they provided $704,000 worth of care and treated an average of 281 patients per month in the Flathead, according to association statistics.

There are other dental programs low-income families can tap into, too, McCue said.

The Give Kids A Smile program sets aside a day in February each year for dental professionals across the state to provide educational services and donate care. Many dentists extend their services beyond that day and continue to work with children, McCue said.

Raunig said Head Start students have used the Give Kids A Smile program but found it provided a "pretty limited" amount of care.

The Donated Dental Services program provides free care to handicapped, disabled and elderly people who otherwise could not afford care. In the Flathead, 18 dentists and dental specialists have provided care over the past year through the Donated Dental Services program, said James Aichlmayr, president of the Montana Dental Association.

He said a hospital on-call dentist program is unique to the Flathead. Nearly 70 percent of the dentists here volunteer to help the emergency rooms at local hospitals with dental emergencies.

Local dentists also provided more than $212,000 worth of care through the state Children's Health Insurance Program last year.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com