Special to Hawaii 24/7 by Emily Mendez-Bryant | Kona Community Hospital Community Relations

Kona Community Hospital has collaborated with Lutheran Medical Center and West Hawaii Community Health Center to provide a Pediatric Dentistry Residency Program that offers specialty training, as well as comprehensive dental services for children in the West Hawaii community who require dental treatment under general anesthesia.

Before this program, many of these children would have had to travel to Oahu for services.

The training program began 15 years ago on the mainland, and in November 2009, established Kona Community Hospital as its fourth location. More than 35 pediatric patients have had dental surgery at Kona Community Hospital since its inception.

Ultimately, the goal of the program is to provide much-needed pediatric dental services to rural communities and the hope is to expand it to other neighbor islands.

Other training sites include Brooklyn, N.Y., Providence, R.I. and Anchorage, Alaska. In 2010, it will be expanded to Tucson, Ariz. and Holyoke, Mass.

The program affiliates with hospitals and community health centers to provide the services. Kona Community Hospital has partnered with West Hawaii Community Health Center’s (WHCHC) Keiki Health Center in Kealakekua.

The other organizations on other islands include Waianae Comprehensive Center, Aloha Medical Mission, Shriners Hospital, Castle Medical Center and the University of Hawaii’s John A Burns School of Medicine LEND Program – a special program for patients with developmental disabilities.

The program has four first-year residents who spend nine months on Oahu and three months in Kona with Dr. Ginelle Sakima-Roberts, Pediatric Dentist for WHCHC.

Children are seen at WHCHC and if they need treatment with general anesthesia, they schedule a surgery at the hospital. Part of the pediatric dentistry training includes dental surgeries under general anesthesia in a hospital setting.

Sakima-Roberts said, “There is a tremendous need for early prevention, dental education, and dental treatment in West Hawaii. We see so many kids that have cavities by age 3, some as early as age 2. Kona Community Hospital’s partnership has been critical in providing a treatment option on our island for our patients who have extensive dental needs.”

Common cases they see are rampant tooth decay, since the decay rate in Hawaii is high compared to the nation, and children with developmental disabilities.

Reasons for the high prevalence for tooth decay are not clear, however, it may be due to lack of proper diet, oral hygiene, routine dental check-ups and supplemental fluoride in the water supply.

Dr. David Okuji, Associate Director of the Lutheran Pediatric Surgical Dentistry Residency Program, and the pediatric dental residents come to the hospital every month. The demand is so high that plans are in the process to accommodate more children.

“We are thankful to Kona Community Hospital, its staff and the pediatricians in the community such as Dr. Wes Sugai,” Okuji said. “We couldn’t provide these services without them since they are an integral part of the program’s success.”