Lemoine Pelullo, K. (2014). Serving disadvantaged populations. Dimensions, 12(11), 17-20.

Most dental hygienists find work in private practice clinics, but there are many
disadvantaged populations that do not have access to dental care in private clinics for many
reasons such as; no dental insurance, transportation, or may be unable to take off work to see a
dentist. As we know, good oral hygiene is important to overall health. Dental caries is the most
common disease in children. There are millions of school hours lost each year by children due to
dental problems. Public health is another option for dental hygienists. Public health dental
hygienists serve low income populations, pregnant women, older adults, and people with
developmental, physical, or mental disabilities. Public health dental hygienists work under
general supervision, which means a dentist must authorize services but does not have to be on
site with the dental hygienist. Public health dental hygienists can work in many different areas of
the community such as; school based dental clinics, mobile dental clinics, and long-term care
facilities. The key to providing access to dental care for whole communities is the use of public
health dental hygienists.
I enjoyed reading about the duties and responsibilities of the public health dental
hygienist. I think I would enjoy working with the underserved populations and educating them
on the importance of oral health and giving oral health instructions. I did not know how much
school was missed by children with dental problems and the dental programs in public schools
are helping with this. One problem in the community that I see that is not being as quickly
resolved is the lack of dental care to residents in nursing homes. I hope that there become more
programs and public health dental hygienists to work with them as oral health is imperative to
complete overall health.