Dental/dental hygiene trainees discuss treating unhoused patients, barriers to care and trust. (2023)
So I had this patient, this gentleman he is, or/and was homeless, but he is able to come to Access Carroll, which is a nonprofit organization in Carroll County. So I help him with a prophy [dental prophylaxis], but he has very severe cavities. So he has had lots of work to be done, restoration-wise, extraction-wise and the problems. He doesn’t really have a fixed spot too for his self-care, brushing teeth or flossing, all these, you have to find a spot to sleep and then do his self-care.
I gave him a couple of samples and I asked him, do you have a spot right now? I don’t. So it’s really… And he has other health conditions that he need[s] treatment [for], so it’s really like he was happy to be here and get treated, but it’s also struggling for him to maintain the good hygiene in the future. And I’m still concerned about him, but nothing I could do from my perspective. But they are people like him underserved. They usually appreciate when they know that people are willing to help because what happened that day is he came early that he have to have somebody, I think it’s from a social worker or something, help him to be here. He has vision issues and he came early. The front desk was not really friendly for him to have the appointment ahead because there is a space between the last appointment and his appointment. He came early, he’s wondering if he could have this appointment early. The front is kind of rude to him. So when I noticed that he came early, so when I reach him like, “Oh, you came early.” He’s like, “Yeah, I understand you got upset, but I’m willing to help.” And he was so happy that I could understand him and super cooperative, super friendly, and he would keep thanking, saying thank you to me. Which I feel like is overwhelmed [sic]. But it’s just a little bit of help for people who are underserved. They appreciate that.