Mark Stone is an advocate for the young and the old who has devoted years to working on their behalf through the Norwood Board of Health.
Yesterday, a coalition of legislators, dentists and other oral health professionals paid tribute to the Norwood dentist for his service.
Meeting in the Nurses Hall of the State House, the group Watch Your Mouth presented its Community Oral Health Hero award to Stone for his contributions to dental health care for the young and the elderly in Norwood area clinics.
"This is really a wonderful honor today," said Stone. "It's truly a thrill to be recognized for my work in Norwood and the surrounding communities.
"It's very important that the issue of dental health in children and seniors has been taken to the State House level. It's important to raise awareness."
The Watch Your Mouth campaign's goal is to provide dental care to each child in the poorest communities, and to get students to see a dentist before they begin school each year. There is now a pilot program in Springfield. The coalition seeks to raise awareness of the lasting health implications associated with dental disease.
For 17 years, Stone has served as the Norwood health board dentist. He conducts dental screenings at local schools for students from the first through sixth grade. Stone has also provided care for students who need more extensive treatments, even if the money for it does not exist.
He also co-founded the Elder Dental Program, which was the first program in Massachusetts to tackle the dental health needs of low-income senior citizens.
Stone calls those senior citizens "the lost generation" of dental care.
"Many of today's dental health programs are for children. The elderly don't always have a voice," said Stone. "They don't know what questions to ask. Their dentists retired long ago, and they're embarrassed about asking the right things.
"Many may lack the funds to pay for adequate care at all."
According to Watch Your Mouth, the public does not pay enough attention to oral health. Experts at yesterday's event said dental disease has been implicated in medical problems involving the brain, stomach, intestines, and other parts of the body.
"Teeth are not just hard things in our mouth. They are living things whose lack of health extends beyond the mouth," said Dr. Sean Palfrey, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and keynote speaker at yesterday's event.
Children with poor dental health can suffer from inattentiveness and have behavioral problems in the classroom.
"It takes a long-term, vigilant community effort to prevent childhood dental and gum disease," said Palfrey. "Doing dental work on children is not easy. It's emotionally trying and technically difficult."
According to Palfrey, there are not many pediatric dentists practicing in the state. Some communities don't have any or treatment comes at a higher price.
Other community and legislative award recipients included Nancy Johnson, a registered dental hygienist, of Granby, state Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, and state Rep. John Scibak, D-South Hadley.
