–Submitted by Matt Marinkovich

Fish for Teeth President

Fish for Teeth is starting its fifth year of turning premium Alaskan rockfish into healthy teeth for islanders who cannot otherwise afford dental care. The rockfish is the key ingredient in the fish tacos that fund the ToothMobile, where all those teeth get fixed by local volunteer dental professionals.

These all-important fish tacos (they’re actually burritos) will be sold on Jan. 22 at Ace Hardware from 11-2 p.m. for a $7 donation to Fish for Teeth.  These tasty tacos also feature fresh salsa from Pablito’s Taqueria, Tillamook cheese, and other quality ingredients.

All profits go to support Fish for Teeth.

Fish for Teeth programs will also benefit from the sale of delectable black cod tips donated by Matt’s Fresh Fish for $15 each, frozen into one pound vac-packs.  Matt’s Fresh Fish will also be selling frozen, vacuum-packed sockeye salmon fillets, sides or portions, for $9 or $10 per pound.

The ToothMobile is also the Medical Teams International Mobile Dental Van.

Fish for Teeth brings the van to Friday Harbor each January, May, and October.  The money raised by fish tacos just about pays for a ToothMobile visit; individual donations by caring community members close the gap. To date our local volunteer dental professionals have provided an estimated 370 visits, equal to $235,000 in dental services.

We must recognize the generous and continued support from those doing the work in the dental van. Lead by Dr. Michael Horn, just about every local dental professional has spent time in the van. Thank you Team Tooth, including those volunteers in reception and intake. It also takes a small army to put the tacos together; we draw from a pool of about 30 individuals who show up when they can to crank out over 300 fish tacos. Thank you Team Taco.

The sustainability of our program is also made possible by generous in-kind donations and “help-outs” by local individuals and businesses.

Special thanks goes to the following: Friday Harbor Suites for a generous rate on accommodations for the dental van driver; Mullis Center for dental van site; Ace Hardware and San Juan Island Community Theater for fish taco site; Cynthia’s Café for ingredients; American Legion for kitchen to prep ingredients; Pablito’s Salsa for a great deal on delicious salsa; Matt’s Fresh Fish for donation of wild Alaskan rockfish; Mullis Street Storage for housing our equipment; Family Resource Center for distributing applications; San Juan County Health and Community Services for collecting and storing applications until volunteers schedule the appointments.

Lastly, thanks to this wonderful community as a whole for making a program like this possible.

To get more information on Fish for Teeth or to get an application for a dental van visit, go to their website.