Craig Bruce
Taking
Care of Children
Craig
Bruce, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, DDS, is the
Navajo Area Regional Specialty Consultant at Tuba City
Regional Health Care Corporation Complex Dental Unit.
This small, remote hospital with a relatively large
staff is located at the Western end of Navajo Nation.
As a pediatric dentist, Bruce is responsible for a
range of dental services for children. Several days a
week he cares for children in the clinic. Once a week
he does full mouth dental rehabilitation in the
operating room for children with serious dental
problems.
“American
Indian children have very high rates of early childhood
decay,” says Bruce. Sixty to 75% of children in Head Start
have some type of decay. In my own studies of children in
the Tuba City area, I’m finding that 90% of the children
have some type of tooth decay; 75% of those have very
severe ECC [early childhood caries]. Sometimes I have to
remove the upper front teeth."
In
an attempt to prevent tooth decay, Bruce is involved in
several prevention projects. “At Head Start we are putting
fluoride on children’s teeth. It’s in the form of a varnish
that we paint on to the teeth after drying the teeth with
varnish. This form of fluoride stays on teeth much longer
than the rinses or gels we used in the past.” Craig also
identifies children with bad decay and arranges for their
care.
Bruce is also coordinating the local coordinator for a
multi site study of chlorhexidine varnish. (Chlorhexidine
is an anti-microbial that kills bacteria, including the
bacteria that cause tooth decay.) Mothers who have
untreated tooth decay can transmit the decay-causing
bacteria to their babies and children. In the study Craig
and his staff are identifying mothers with babies who are
about 4 to 5 months old and don’t yet have teeth. Craig and
his staff provide any needed dental care to the mothers and
paint their teeth with the chlorhexidine varnish. “After 18
months, we’ll look at the decay rate in the moms as well as
the babies. Hopefully we’ll see a significant difference.
Bruce and his
staff provide dental education on both the family and
community level. They warn against letting babies and
children sip juice and pop throughout the day. If children
eat or drink at bedtime, they need to brush their teeth
before going to bed. In general Bruce urges people to have
good eating habits and good oral hygiene.
Turning
Point
While growing up Bruce didn’t know any dentists or doctors.
Bruce worked for his father, who owned a small construction
company, and entered college as a business major. At the
University of South Dakota he discovered he didn’t like
business. He was intrigued as he heard some of his friends
talk about their plans to be doctors and started taking the
prerequisites for medical school, though he wasn’t sure
that medicine was the field for him.
Serendipitously, at a ski resort, Bruce met a dentist who
helped him see that as a dentist he could work with his
hands but also have some involvement with medicine.
“Talking to that dentist was a turning point for me,” says
Bruce. “I liked the idea of fixing things and making them
right. When I got back to school I started shadowing
dentists and decided this was the profession for me.”
Knowing that dental school was highly competitive, he
proved he could handle graduate level work in science by
successfully completing a master’s degree in science at the
University of South Dakota.
Bruce
was challenged by his dental studies at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry. “The material
wasn’t difficult to understand,” he said. “There was just
so much to learn.” Some IHS externships helped Bruce with
his hands-on skills. “During the summers, I had a lot of
experience under the supervision of an IHS dentist. This
helped me immeasurably.”
Following graduation from dental school, Bruce worked on
his reservation for two years. “The biggest gain was
reconnecting with my family and distant relatives. I
learned more about myself and where I came from. It was
nice to be where I felt I belonged.”
Bruce particularly enjoyed reconnecting with his
grandfather with whom he had spent many summers on the
reservation. His grandfather, in turn, was proud to have
his grandson back home. “When I was out in the community
with Grandpa, he introduced me to people, saying, ‘This is
my grandson, Dr. Bruce, the dentist.’ Sometimes he took out
the dentures that I made for him and showed people that I
had put his name on them.”
Diana
Cudeii, Navajo, her husband, Craig Bruce, and
patient
During the two
years on the reservation, Bruce said he became more aware
of his strengths and deficiencies as a dentist. This helped
him clarify what he needed in the general practice
residency at Phoenix Indian Medical Center. At the dental
clinic he met and soon married Diana Cudeii, Navajo, who
had been a dental hygienist for several years. The couple
went back up to Turtle Mountain where both of them provided
dental care for several years.
Next Bruce did a residency in pediatric dentistry at Denver
Children’s Hospital. He felt that his commitment to serving
American Indian children helped him get into this
competitive program. “This residency helped me learn more
about myself,” says Bruce, “I thought I was kind of a tough
macho guy because I raced cars and snow mobiles and rode
and broke horses. Working with young kids who had a short
life expectancy brought out sensitivities that I didn’t
know that I had.” He also developed close bonds with
colleagues with whom he shared experiences, such as the
death of a patient.
Bruce and his wife returned to the reservation for another
year and a half and then moved south. After 8 months on the
Hopi Reservation, Bruce transferred to his current job.
A
Gratifying Profession
“Dentistry is
probably one of the most challenging and fulfilling
professions. Many people are afraid of dentists so you have
to deal with their emotional needs as well as their
physical needs. After Hurricane Katrina, I worked in a
mobile clinic in Mississippi where I was able to treat a
woman who was in a agonizing pain and was terrified about
having an injection.” Bruce calmed the woman and was able
to relieve her pain almost immediately. After Bruce
extracted her tooth, the woman thanked him effusively. “I
feel fortunate that I’m needed and can help. I can’t think
of another profession that is more gratifying. I feel very
lucky to have found this profession and way of life.
This
article was originally published in the Spring 2007 issue
of
Winds of Change. (The cover
artist, Buffalo Gouge, Creek and Cherokee, works with
bright colors. Portraits are his main interest. For more
information visit .)