ES Rural Health to open dental unit set to open at Occohannock Elementary in early 2025

Pictured: Eastern Shore Rural Health will open a full service dental office at Occohannock Elementary in partnership with Northampton County Public Schools in early 2025. Pictured left to right are: NCPS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Martin, Rural Health CEO Jeannette Edwards and Rural Health Chief Dental Officer Dr. Scott Wolpin.

Eastern Shore Rural Health has partnered with Northampton County Public Schools to offer improved access to oral health services for children at Occohannock Elementary School. The goal is to prevent students from attending school with mouth pain, which can affect their academic performance. The new dental location, which opens in early 2025, will be open year-round and provide services to both prevent and repair damage to teeth for ages six months through 18 years. Currently Rural Health provides only preventive care at Occohannock Elementary one day per week through Rural Health’s traveling program.

Rural Health has been awarded a $159,000 federal appropriations grant in support of this new school dental unit. The funding will be used to renovate a modular unit owned by Northampton County Public Schools and furnish the unit with dental equipment. The grant award, recommended by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Senator Mark Warner, will be administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. 

The Occohannock Elementary dental unit is part of an existing initiative with Northampton County Public Schools to give children more access to services that prevent dental disease and repair damage. Rural Health was approached by Northampton County Public Schools to establish a comprehensive, school based dental program in 2021. The first NCPS dental unit at Kiptopeke Elementary saw its first patient on Sept. 19, 2022. Rural Health hopes to open a third unit at the combined Northampton High/Middle School in the future. The NCPS program is modeled after a similar successful program Rural Health operates in partnership with Accomack County Public Schools.

Oral health education also will be provided at this new Occohannock Elementary dental site. One dentist, two dental assistants and a business assistant will focus on children who previously have not had a dental home and/or those with untreated dental disease.