All Iowa children entering kindergarten and ninth grade are required to have a dental screening, and Washington County families are being offered a free opportunity to check this off their back-to-school list.

Washington County Public Health and I-Smile, a statewide dental program, are offering free dental screenings tomorrow and Monday, August 16th from 3-6 p.m. at their office located on the fifth floor of the Federation Bank building in Washington.

Washington County I-Smile Coordinator Martha Hernandez says they started hosting these clinics a couple years ago as there are currently no dentists in the county who accept Medicaid insurance, “A lot of the clients we see are on Medicaid. So they struggle to find a dental home and a lot of times they have to travel outside of the county to find services. So it’s a big struggle and that’s kind of why we kind of started those clinics.”

Public health staff will assist families in finding a dental provider following the screenings with a Spanish interpreter on hand if needed. No appointments or paperwork are required for these screenings, and public health recommends participants wear a face mask and only bring children who require these services. Vision screenings will also be available. You can hear more from Hernandez during today’s Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiradio.com.