Every dental professional wants to see a luminous grin on their patient’s face after an appointment, but for Annie Juergens, a beaming smile means everything.

Besides knowing how much of her own time and effort went into making those chompers look their best, the knowledge that she helped their owner build better habits and take better care of their teeth on their own is all the thanks she needs.

As a Registered Dental Hygienist with Northwest Colorado Health, Juergens specializes in the outlet’s mobile unit for dental care in schools across Moffat and Routt counties.

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Estimating that she between 3,500 and 4,000 kids in a school year, Juergens sees patients in schools at Steamboat Springs and Hayden as well as at the Boys & Girls Club of Craig.

With dental care at Craig schools coming closer to being worked out in the coming year, the mobile unit is also seeing increased interest from South Routt and Meeker.

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“I call it “The Bus” but it’s really more like a box truck,” Juergens said of the vehicle, which has seen some changes since Northwest Colorado Health began bringing its services to schools three years ago.

“Dental in general has been expanding a lot here, and I’ve been at the forefront of a lot of it, which has been really cool,” she said. “Parents are missing less work, kids are missing less appointments and less school in general.”

Juergens is a Craig native and Moffat County High School graduate who attended several college programs before she narrowed down her career choice to dentistry — as the child of a dental hygienist and a physical therapist, she was leaning toward one or the other — and got accredited through Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely.

She first brought up the idea of a traveling dental team to bosses about six years ago after learning of a similar setup in Denver.

“I told them, ‘I have no idea we do this, but we need to do this,'” she said. “I won’t take full credit for it, I think I just sprouted an idea, then we had people who knew how to make it happen.

The mobile unit allows personnel to offer young patients X-rays and cleanings as well as things like temporary fillings and sealants, if necessary. Extensive work beyond that is sometimes needed, but part of Juergens’ goal is to help kids be less afraid of requesting the care they need.

“I want to be an advocate for kids — we have a lot of different routes to help them,” she said, noting that she and her colleagues have worked with patients who face financial hardships or language barriers that added to their oral hygiene issues.

She noted that getting kids comfortable with dental checkups makes it easier for their families to invest in it and also be more aware of caring for their oral health as they get older.

“I’ve had a lot of success stories and heard back from parents that kids came home excited, they like to see us in the schools, they’re not afraid of us. They can come up to me in the hallway with a high-five. Parents put their trust in us with their child, and that’s something I take pride in. To have a parent say, ‘I trust you wholeheartedly with my child’s health,’ I appreciate that.”

Dr. Madeline Connick, Northwest Colorado Health’s dental director, said Juergens and coworker Alyssa Conner were “the bedrock” of the mobile unit.

“They care so much about it, which is so important. You have to find somebody who’s passionate about it, and they really are the engine behind it,” Connick said, adding that Juergens was integral to getting a school-based program for the region.

While she’s worked with plenty of adults, Juergens almost exclusively attends to children now, and she said that’s likely to stay the case.

“Now that I’m just doing that with kids, my heart is pretty invested. The more I help out kids in this area, the more I want to do for them,” she said. “I’m grateful that my job lets me pick what my priorities are.”

The way her work schedule is arranged is also to accommodate her 18-month-old son, Cohen.

Juergens noted that as fulfilling as her job was before, her baby motivates her every day.

“After I had my own, I realized what a big deal it was to work with and take care of kids,” she said. It was never hard for me, but once you have one, your heart grows a little bigger for all of them.”

Since moving back to Craig seven years ago with her husband, Brent, Juergens said she’s rediscovered what she loved about her hometown.

“Craig is home,” she said. Craig is what you make it, and I’ve been blessed to be involved in so many good aspects, and that’s what made us move back here. We’ve built our home here, we own land, we’re staying here.”

Juergens added that she hopes to keep get more involved with the community in a different capacity — most recently serving as part of the planning committee for Cowboy Christmas —and give kids the experience she got.

“I love small towns — I love what it represents and how it feels, and I’d like to help grow it as much as I can,” she said.