Small, shiny teeth abounded at the John W. Decas Elementary School, thanks to the Mobile Dentists’ visits Thursday and Friday.

The dentists visit the school twice a year, once towards the end of the school year, and once in the Fall. The traveling dentistry program has been implemented in 22 states, since its inception in Michigan in 1997. It is part of a larger program called ReachOut Healthcare America, a private company based in Arizona. The schools portion of the company caters to at risk students.

School nurse Sheila Braley said the kids who especially benefit from the Mobile Dentists’ visit are those whose families may not be able to afford to see a dentist, or cannot easily get to a dentist.

“They cover some of the kids on MassHealth, they do provide grants for people that can’t afford it, or that don’t fit under any of those categories, so they can provide them free service,” Braley said.

Dental hygienist Heidi Ebers said the dentists not only clean teeth, but do fillings, sealants, and x-rays, too. She said the visits are effective, and the kids with cavities often don’t have to have as much work done, the second time around.

“Everything that you see in a dental office – you see my little kit ‘n’ kaboodle here,” Ebers said, gesturing towards the makeshift dental office the three-person team had set up in the school’s hallway. “We travel in a van all over the state, from Pittsfield to Boston.”

Ebers said they saw 18 kids Thursday, and 15 or 16 Friday. Some students see the team two days in a row, due to more decay than can be handled in a short period of time.

“We don’t want to keep them out of class for too long,” Ebers said. “And they are little – how much can anybody sustain in one visit? We try to make it as positive as possible.”

The only time the team runs into issues, Ebers said, is when adults “infer their own fear on children.”

“Sometimes, they say, ‘Oh, it’s not going to hurt,’” Ebers said. “Well, as soon as you say that, it’s going to hurt. … Sometimes, our own fears, as adults, we don’t mean to pass on to children, but we do.”