An enquiry into dental care for elderly in nursing homes lead us to mobile dental care for the aged. Nursing homes usually have in-house nursing staff and may have an in-house doctor, or at least have regular doctors who they use, on call. But dentists are not traditionally placed within a nursing home and dentists on call are not quite the same as doctors on call. Doctors can easily visit a patient with a stethoscope around their neck and a blood pressure machine in their bag, together with a few other medical tools. But dentists need a lot of equipment and a dentist on call is not altogether practical. But our investigations lead us to mobile dentists and that is how we learned how dental care is provided to the elderly in nursing homes.
Investigating mobile dental care
As we learned more about mobile dental care we learned how it works. A mobile dental practice is a business on its own. A dentist or a group of dentists set up a mobile van which becomes a mobile dental practice. The mobile dental practice is fully equipped. The ‘consulting room’ has excellent lighting, running water, a comfortable dental chair, a dental stool for the dentist, specially designed cabinets and shelves for the dental equipment and of course, all the mirrors and tools and any equipment that the dentist may need. The mobile dentistry practice parks outside a nursing home and appointments are made, just like at a regular dental practice, every hour or so. A staff member from the nursing home accompanies the patients to the mobile dental practice, ensuring they arrive on time for their appointments.
A mobile dental practice is a brilliant idea and that is how dental care for elderly in nursing homes is provided in the United States and around the world.
