Dental News - Interview: Improving oral health through portable and mobile dentistry

Iveta Ramonaite, DTI

Tue. 27. August 2019

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In 2018, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Action for Dental Health Act of 2017. The bill was intended to address the dental health crisis in the U.S. and to increase access to oral health care. Dental Tribune International (DTI) spoke with Dr. Romesh Nalliah, an associate professor and Director of Pre-Doctoral Clinical Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Dr. Shailee Gupta, a clinical director at the St. David’s Foundation in Austin, Texas. In their recent study, the researchers examined how portable and mobile dentistry (PMD) could help reach the vulnerable. They shared their findings with DTI.

Dr. Nalliah, what does the term “PMD” include?
Portable dentistry involves dental equipment that is lightweight, is not fixed to a dental office and can be moved from location to location. Mobile dentistry involves a vehicle that is fitted to deliver dental services with dental chairs, radiographic units and other dental equipment.

What are the current regulations governing PMD in the U.S.?
The value system of the U.S. is that the federal government should allow each state government to manage its region according to the unique culture and needs of that region. Therefore, there is huge variability between states in various legislative matters, including the regulation of PMD. Our paper is intended to draw attention to these variations.

Who would benefit from PMD and how?
Portable dentistry is ideal for delivering care to immobile individuals, such as hospitalized patients, the elderly and patients with special health care needs. Mobile dental units are ideal for delivering care to rural communities. However, the purpose of our paper is to start a conversation about alternative approaches to improving access by using PMD. For example, taking PMD to a large employer and delivering care to workers with minimal disruption to the workday, or to children in schools whose parents may face multiple barriers to accessing dental care.

Dr. Gupta, why is PMD advantageous to the dentist?

PMD is advantageous to the dentist because care is being brought directly to the patients. The dentist will not have to worry about patients failing to attend their appointments or canceling. Patients may be less stressed and more able to focus on the care they are receiving because some of the barriers they previously faced are eliminated. PMD is also highly rewarding and continually interesting, as your practice location changes frequently. Therefore, dentists may feel like they have a sense of mission and become more aware of the value of the direct care that they are providing to their patients.

What are some of the obstacles to PMD?

Some of the obstacles to PMD may include the cost of the equipment and the mobile dental van; maintenance, repair and sustainability of PMD equipment; space constraints, such as restricted storage for equipment; and privacy of patient information. Finally, the funding for PMD may not be sustainable.

The study, titled “Reaching vulnerable populations through portable and mobile dentistry—Current and future opportunities,” was published in the September 2019 issue of Dentistry Journal.

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