MOBILE DENTAL CLINICS

R KATHIRESAN
PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY
 SYNOPSIS
• INTRODUCTION

• NEED FOR MOBILE DENTAL CLINIC

• TARGET POPULATION

• GOALS& OBJECTIVES
• PARTNERSHIPS
• SPECIFICATIONS

• ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

• SOME MOBILE DENTAL CLINICS
• CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
• Provision of health care facilities and the extent of their
access is one of the indices of human development.
- Santoso et al., 2012
• It is a critical and an important determinant of health and it
is at the heart of the discourse on how to achieve the health-
related Millennium Development Goals.
- United Nations General Assembly, 2000
• Mobile & portable dental services provide an innovative
solution in bringing dental care to the doorsteps of the
underprivileged & rural population who lack of access for
even the basic dental services.
• A MDC is any self-contained facility where dentistry will be
practiced, which may be driven, moved, towed or
transported from one location or another.
 HISTORY

• Mobile dentistry started in Canada by formation of the

Canadian Army Dental Corps on 13 May 1915.
• While the first use in US was in 1917 during the World War I,
when the Preparedness League of American Dentists
provided a “dental ambulance” to the army in the name of
Red Cross. Four dentists & one or two assistants operated
the ambulance.
 NEED
• What population need our service and where they are
located?
• Their oral health needs
• The barriers that prevent them from accessing care in
current delivery system
• What providers and staffs are needed?

• Cost effective equipments and services

• Finance and Funds available
 TARGET POPULATION
• Low income individual/families

• Isolated or Very rural population

• Very young population

• Persons in residential care facilities

• Homebound/ Bedridden/Very frail

• Persons with variety of health care needs

• Migrant and Social workers

• Homeless and Temporarily Displaced

 GOALS & OBJECTIVES
• GOALS – Broad conceptual statements we would like to
achieve
• OBJECTIVES – Specific measurable statements that should be
achievable in a time frame

• Think carefully about the impact of program.

 PARTNERSHIPS
• Most successful public oral health depends on multiple types
and sources of support
• Partners are essential to success
• Helps you better understand local needs and assets
• For funding & Establishment
• Identify and track patient eligibility for services
• Gain consent
• Communicate with other health providers
• Acquire feedbacks from community
• Market ans sustain the program over time
• GOVERNMENT – State local health department/Social
Service
• COMMUNITY – CHC, Community Water Supervisors
• EDUCATION – Local School Administration
• PROVIDERS – Doctors

• PUBLIC - Organizations
• INSURANCE PROVIDERS
• MEDICAL & DENTAL SCHOOLS
SPECIFICATIONS OF MDC

SINGLE CHAIR MDC

SPECIFICATIONS OF MDC

DOUBLE CHAIR MDC

TRAILER UNIT
CARAVAN MODEL
TRUCK & BUS MODEL
 EQUIPMENTS
DENTAL CHAIR
• Hydraulically operated dental chair with water connection,
Spittoon & Tumbler
• Air ventury Suction
• Aerotor
• Micromotor
• Scaler
• Light cure unit with gun
• Multi functional foot control
• Dental operators stool
• Operating light –Two intensity
• Dental X ray unit with daylight manual developer

• Autoclave
• Glass bead sterilizer

• Metal cabinets with wash basin

• Stabilizer
• Generator
• Water tank (400 Lit)
• Oxygen cylinder
• Public adress system
• Tv and DVD Players
• Health Educational models
 PORTABLE DENTAL UNIT
• Portable and easy to handle
• Detachable type and well balanced
• Mobile Suitcase unit – Micromotar and
handpiece
• Control box with transparent water tank
• Compact compressor
 MDC – ACROSS THE WORLD
• ACROSS THE SMILES
• GENERATION FAMILY HEALTH CENTRE, CONNECTICUT
• 40 long foot flat bed truck
• Health education
• Preventive care
• Restorative care
• Screening
• School Dental health care delivery
 SMILES TO GO

• The hospital of Saint Raphael, Connecticut

• 65 foot articulated tractor trail
• School dental health programs
• Community dental health care
• It includes Dental Laboratory
 MOLAR EXPRESS
• THE HARTFORD CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL,
CONNECTICUT
• 30 Feet van – dental care for 17 school
childrens
 MILES FOR SMILES
• Collaborative effort – Denver Colorado based KIND (Kids in
need of dentistry and Southwest Community resources.
• Non profit Dental Clinic
• Comprehensive Dental Services
• School Dental services

• Community dental services

• Low income childrens (0-18 Years)
 ADVANTAGES
• Moderate start up costs
• It addresses the problem of transportation to clinics
• Decreases missed appointments when run in conjugation
with schools
• Services at multiple sites

• Services made available to needy population

 DISADVANTAGES

• High maintenance cost

• Difficult to access and store patient records
• Limited Services
• Difficult to follow up
• Requires permission for site use
• Difficult to use during monsoon
 CONCLUSION

• Fully equipped mobile dental clinics to provide

effective dental care to doorsteps of
underprivileged & rural population.
• It helps in reducing disparities in oral health status
and inequalities in access to oral health care
THANK YOU