Instead of being seated in a dental chair inside the building at 126 N. 10th St., they were in a specially equipped truck parked nearby.

The truck, along with a dentist and two support personnel, came to Fort Dodge through a partnership between the Health Center, Delta Dental Foundation of Iowa and Dental Connections.

Representatives of Delta Dental contacted Renae Kruckenberg, chief executive officer of the Health Center, to talk about innovative ways that Dental Connections could use its Smile Squad truck. The rig usually goes to schools to provide dental care to children.

Because of the high demand for the dental services offered at the Health Center, getting an appointment can take a long time.

“We’re booked out three to five months,” Kruckenberg said.

If a patient needs a complex procedure such as a root canal, the wait can be nine months.

To help whittle down the backlog, it was decided to dispatch the Smile Squad truck to Fort Dodge.

The truck and its staff were at the Health Center Nov. 4-6.

During that time, 25 patients were treated in the truck. The dentist performed extractions, restorations and root canals.

“It helped 25 of our patients get treatment sooner than they would have otherwise,” Kruckenberg said.

It has not been decided if or when the truck will return to Fort Dodge.

But Kruckenberg said last week’s visit was a “great start” to a new partnership between the Health Center and Dental Connections.