Dr. Cyrus Oates

Dr. Cyrus Oates transformed his private practice into a hub for ensuring schoolchildren in Rockford, Ill., have access to high-quality oral health care. What started as a conversation with the town in 2005 has become an essential, school-based, oral health program serving as many as 5,500 students each year.

Operating as a nonprofit separate from his private practice, Dr. Oates and a dozen colleagues – both his employees and peers – perform exams, cleanings and fluoride varnish applications for students in Rockford public schools. Any necessary follow up for urgent or emergent restorative treatments is addressed in his own office. In 2023, that included half of all the students seen.

Early on, barriers to completing follow up care, like transportation and low dentist recruitment due to no-show appointments, were a challenge. Dr. Oates and his team worked with the district to organize buses for roughly 8 students to travel to and from his office every Tuesday morning. His chairs are never empty, and he primarily works with administrators on consent and parent communication.

Believed to be the only operation of its kind, at least in Illinois, Dr. Oates is certain the program is replicable. His advice? Start small and with school nurses. He credits school nurses and other district leaders for their aid in overcoming many obstacles along the way.

Dr. Oates has seen it all – from a high school senior in need of 12 extractions to a child as young as age 5 with 20 teeth in need of restoration. Working directly with schools is a way to ensure access to dental care early on and provide a lifetime of good oral health.