Dental/dental hygiene trainees discuss access to care, time, and quality of patient care. (2023)
I think it’s the flow of the clinics too. I had a patient the other day that needed a bunch of operative work, but they had been referred for [. . .]. So, in order for, if you do it by the book how we’re supposed to, they had to go back through admissions. That’s admissions appointment, and then a diagnostic appointment, do a oral diagnosis. So it’s two appointments without doing anything. And then we’re booking out until next year already, and so it’s like you say this to the patient. Then they’re like, “Well, I don’t want to do that.” But then, like you said, this is their only option, so either they get lost in the system, or they’re going to decide to wait on it, and then their problems get worse. It’s a constant battle, I feel like.