Alternative Pathways in Dentistry: Mobile Dental Clinics, Illustration of Implementation in San Mateo and Santa Clara County through Federally Qualified Health Center

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Alternative models of healthcare delivery are becoming essential to close the current gaps in dental care.

Methods

These alternative care models also provide an opportunity to the dental team to work in non-traditional clinical settings and allow the approach to be designed around chronic disease management, enhanced patient engagement, and ease of access. One such model is the mobile dental clinic. Mobile clinics can be impactful in providing dental services and reaching communities that experience the most difficulty in accessing traditional dental clinics.

Results

Mobile service delivery can be achieved utilizing a mobile dental van or transporting dental equipment to a site and setting up a temporary dental office. They are slowly growing in popularity in urban, sub-urban and rural United States as it offers to address barriers and increase utilization of dental services. They allow for flexibility for the dental team and at the same time address social determinants of health, making it a promising dental service delivery model.

Practical Implications

This manuscript reviews the use of mobile dental units and its effectiveness as an adjunct to traditional brick and mortar dental clinics and its challenges and also describes implementation of a mobile dental clinic program by a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the Bay Area, CA.

KEYWORDS:

• Access to care
• mobile dental units
• alternate pathways in dentistry

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Logan Lehnert

Logan Lehnert is a sophomore at Colby College as a predental student. He is a varsity track athlete and has had varied volunteering experiences in healthcare. He has worked for the SOAR surgery center and volunteered with the International Extremity Project and volunteered at Ravenswood Family Dentistry over the summer. He is the current president of the CMI at Colby College.

Yogita Thakur

Yogita Thakur, DDS, MS, is a public health pediatric dentist and Chief Dental Officer at Ravenswood Family Health Network. Her key clinical interests include treating children with special health care needs and has a special interest in working to eliminate barriers to address disparities in oral health among the low-income and minority populations within San Mateo County. She has worked successfully to implement innovative programs to increase access to care. She currently serves on the board of National Network of Oral Health Access (NNOHA) and the Dental Board of California.