By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.-Students became patients this week at school when Melanie Sheils-Vergeldt, DDS, visited.

The dentist made stops at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School and Harvey Swanson Elementary on Monday, then swung by Oakwood Elementary on Tuesday to offer her services.

“We saw approximately 40 children in two days,” said Sheils-Vergeldt, who is accompanied by an X-ray technician and hygienists to perform visual and radiographic exams, clean teeth, and provide flouride treatments and dental sealants. “The beauty of this program is it’s so convenient for parents. Many times, working parents can’t swing it or they’d rather do a million other things than sit in a dentist office on a Saturday morning.”

Sheils-Vergeldt, who was a dental hygienist for many years before getting a nursing degree and then following that up with dental school at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1994,  began the school dentist program in 2003 as she was recovering from breast cancer. Serving young patients during school hours allowed her to have more time with her own then school-aged children, while filling a need for working parents and often low-income families using Medicaid. These days, those using her services come from varying income brackets and she is not the only one offering mobile dental services, although it is more heavily regulated.

The now 62-year-old has been coming to Brandon schools since 2005, and the Beverly Hills, Mich. resident travels all over the state. Upcoming stops were to include Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Hamtramck and Lansing. She mostly sees children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

“The children are just the beautiful people,” said Sheils-Vergeldt. “Many of these kids are first-time patients and this is a good way to get a first experience– in the safe environment of school and seeing other kids doing it.”

The kids are mostly happy, she added, with good reactions, although she had one little girl on Tuesday that was crying, but after the exam, skipped down the hall, merrily telling everyone that would listen that she did it.

Sheils-Vergeldt loves giving good news reports to parents, especially those who have put off the exams or are fearful their children have cavities. Her number one bit of advice to avoid cavities and tooth decay is simple: Stay away from soda pop.

“Carbonation in pop is so hard on teeth,” said Sheils-Vergeldt. “When I see decay on the front of teeth, I ask if they are drinking pop. Sometimes they say, ‘Only a couple a day,’ and that is too many.”