Dentist ends long career at clinic Frachella treated kids in Bangor for 32 years

BANGOR – For the last 32 years, dentist John Frachella has treated low-income children at the Bangor Children’s Dental Clinic on Texas Avenue.

Under his skilled hands, thousands of area youngsters have had their teeth cleaned and sealed, drilled and filled, capped and crowned and straightened.

But Thursday marked the end of Frachella’s long practice at the publicly funded clinic, as he prepares to move into a new chapter in his personal and professional life.

Frachella, 57, and his wife, Carol, both avid outdoor enthusiasts, are moving west in a few days to a remote section of central Oregon where they’ll be closer to the high mountains and deep snows they love.

There, he’ll assist in setting up another public dental clinic in a small town near the Ochoco National Forest, and will also provide dental care to a Native American community nearby.

Global warming, he says, is forcing his relocation.

“When I first moved here in 1974, the snow banks were so high that people had to have those little orange balls at the tip of their car antennas so you could see them at a street corner,” Frachella said Thursday.

Now, he said, the snow in Maine is simply not enough to challenge his passion for winter mountaineering and downhill skiing.

Frachella’s boss Shawn Yardley, director of the city’s Department of Health and Welfare, said Thursday that the kid-friendly dentist will be sorely missed.

But his leaving coincides with increased access to dental services for kids from low-income families, most notably the 18- or 20-chair dental clinic at Penobscot Community Health Care and pediatric practice of Jonathan Shenkin.

Since many area families now bring their children to these practices, Yardley said, the 50-year-old city program will reinvent itself to fill another unmet need.

“Parents often wait until a child is 3 or 4 or 5 years old before they bring them to the dentist, and many times those kids already have dental disease by then,” he said.

The right time for that crucial first visit is during infancy, Yardley said, where babies’ mouths can be assessed for structural problems or disease and parents can learn the basics of caring for their children’s teeth, including oral hygiene and nutrition.

Yardley said the remaining staff from the clinic, a hygienist and a dental assistant, will coordinate with the Women, Infant and Children program, or WIC, to provide services to mothers and babies who take advantage of the federally funded health and nutrition program.

In addition, the two professionals may take their show on the road, visiting infants and mothers in rural areas of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. When they identify dental disease or other concerns, they’ll make referrals to area dentists for follow-up care.

The three-chair clinic on Texas Avenue will stay set up for the time being and will be available to dentists who treat disabled children and adults with especially disruptive behaviors, Yardley said.

The quiet location will allow dentists to deliver care without disrupting their offices or disturbing other clients. If there’s no demand, the equipment will be sold.

Getting ready for a good-bye party at the clinic Thursday afternoon, Frachella reflected that while several other Bangor dental practices treat low-income children, many are reluctant to take on unruly kids who “act out” in the dentist’s chair.

Over the years, he said, he has developed successful techniques for working with frightened youngsters, helping them hold still long enough to get the care they need.

He worries that other practices may not have the patience or the skills to do the same.

“[Some dental practices] will refuse to treat crying, screaming kids,” he said. “Then those kids never want to come back to the dentist until they have such serious tooth decay that they end up in the emergency room.”

Many such patients endure multiple tooth extractions, he said, limiting their adult job opportunities and driving them “right back into the Medicaid pit.”

Frachella, who also helped establish a special statewide program for treating Maine children with cleft palettes, will keep his small farm in Hudson and a camp on Chesuncook Lake.

He’ll return summers to work on kids’ teeth one day a week at the Indian Island reservation and to enjoy the unique pleasures of the Maine summer.