Fish for Teeth tacos this Friday

Matt Marinkovich has some information for you about the tacos this Friday and about the whole Fish for Teeth Program in general. Here he is with the story…

Fish for Teeth will be selling fish tacos this Friday as we kick off our third year of fixing islanders’ teeth who could not otherwise afford dental care. The last two ToothMobile visits have produced record numbers, and we plan on stepping up our prevention and education efforts with a sealant program that seeks to apply sealants to every second-grader on San Juan Island.

The fish tacos are $7 each and will be served from 11am-2pm at Friday Harbor Ace Hardware on Friday, January 24th. They are the same fabulous super-tacos (actually burritos) filled with Matt Marinkovich’s Alaskan rockfish (harvested from abundant stocks), and complimented with Pablito’s salsa, fresh Tillamook cheese, fresh cabbage, and a squeeze of lime. Our Fish For Teeth Taco Team is the happiest bunch of volunteers you could meet because they love to pitch in for this great cause! Thank you to Friday Harbor Ace Hardware for providing the covered space to sell fish tacos.

The last two-day visit of the ToothMobile had record numbers, with 33 people served for nearly $21,000 worth of dental services. Many of these people had not been to a dentist in a while and had no other option but to live with tooth pain. To date, 225 people on San Juan and Lopez Islands have been provided over $125,000 in dental services, all from this 100% volunteer effort. The community support is immense with support from your own local dental professionals, the staffs at the San Juan County Health Department and San Juan and Lopez Family Resource Centers, the Oral Health Coalition, and many selfless individuals who put in countless hours to schedule the van and have patients ready in an orderly and efficient fashion.

Fish for Teeth’s latest undertaking is to assure 100% of San Juan Island’s second graders have sealants applied to their molars. This program is as much about dental awareness and education, for both children and adults, as it is about applying the sealants which will assure better dental health. The first step is to get the child into a dentists chair for a checkup; this may be the first time a child has been to a dentist. If a family does not have dental insurance, Fish for Teeth will provide the information needed to understand the options available to families in order to get their children into the dentist. All this culminates with the special May 15th ToothMobile visit where our community will work together to make sure every second grader has the opportunity to have their teeth protected by sealants.

The Medical Teams International mobile dental van (ToothMobile) will be on San Juan Island on January 24th and 25th. We schedule patients ahead of time to maximize efficiency. The ToothMobile also comes to San Juan Island in May and October. Applications can be picked up at the Health Department, the San Juan Island Family Resource Center, or online at fishforteeth.com.

In addition to our fish taco fundraising efforts, Fish for Teeth has received generous donations from individuals and service groups to support our programs. Recent donations from our local Rotary and American Legion Women’s Auxiliary enabled us to initiate our sealant program.

If you would like information on any of our programs, wish to volunteer your services to Fish for Teeth, or would like to donate to our cause, please visit our web site at fishforteeth.com

Sincerely,

Matt Marinkovich,
Fish for Teeth Pres.

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