Stacey Anderson

Stacey Anderson is a Registered Dental Hygienist. After providing dental hygiene services and oral health education for over 20 years in private practice, she followed her own belief that “the greatest risk is in not taking one.” Stacey passionately believes that dental health is the right of every child.

In 2006, Stacey founded Just Kids Dental Health, an innovative community-based program dedicated to preventing and reducing dental disease by focusing on underserved and low-income uninsured children. Using her own personal funds, Stacey purchased $30,000 in equipment and supplies necessary to implement this valuable program. Stacey and Just Kids Dental Health staff share a passionate goal of providing critically needed cleanings, fluoride varnish, sealants and oral health instruction to low-income children, many of whom have never seen a dentist!

A prominent goal of Just Kids Dental Health is to promote education for good oral health. Oral hygiene and nutritional education is done with every visit by demonstrations of tooth brushing and flossing on colorful tooth models and hands on displays. She works collaboratively with the school nurses for case management of children found to have severe decay. Parent letters are sent home by school nurses and referrals to area dental providers on a case by case basis by Stacey and the Director of Health Services.

Stacey removes a child’s fear of dentistry by delivering services in an upbeat, fun atmosphere and rewarding children with great prize bags and colorful home care dental products. With public resources becoming scarcer, Stacey works diligently to strengthen relationships with public and private sectors to collectively address oral health problems. Just Kids Dental Health has proven to be a successful collaboration of efforts by providing preventive services to a group of low-income children.

Providing services through school based and community access points benefits many parents who cannot access dental care for their children due to income, lack of insurance, and/or transportation difficulties or the inability to take time off work.

As a result of this innovative program, children receiving dental services may see increased classroom performance and reduced dental decay. Dental disease is largely preventable, but tooth decay is the most common chronic infection among children today. She feels that with all the disparities facing our youth, a healthy smile should not be one of them! Just Kids Dental Health consists of Stacey Anderson, Registered Dental Hygienist and two Dental Assistants.

Just Kids Dental Health meets the preventive dental care needs of underserved children by mobile clinics at the following Minnesota and Wisconsin community locations: LakeView Memorial Hospital Saturday Clinics (a rural hospital centered in Northeastern Minnesota where access to dental care is severely limited), The Boys & Girls Club of Duluth, Carlton County WIC Program, Duluth Safe Haven Battered Women’s Shelter, and low-income/uninsured children facing limited access to care within the schools districts of Superior, WI, and Cook, Cloquet, Lake Superior and Proctor, MN.

The collaboration with the School District of Superior was established in the fall of 2008. In its first year alone, mobile clinic services including cleanings, fluoride varnish, oral health education and sealants were provided to over 1,200 children who received 5,163 sealants. Now that is something to smile about!

Stacey is deserving of this award due to her passion and the immense amount of time she selflessly dedicates to helping underserved children. She used her personal funds to establish the program, devotes many late nights to writing grant proposals and volunteers her time at school functions to educate parents on the value of good oral health and encourage parents to enroll their children in this free school -based program. During the first years of Just Kids Dental Health, funds were minimal. Stacey wore all hats and administered all duties of the program to include administrative, Medicaid billing, community promotion and sealant clinician.

Nancy Smith R.N., C.S.N.
Director of Health Services
School District of Superior