There are many reasons that people avoid going to the dentist. They are too busy, it will be too expensive, the kids’ dental needs come first. But taking care of your teeth and gums is essential to good health, and taking care of your health should always be a priority.
There’s another reason that people don’t see the dentist. They want to make the appointment. It’s high on their priority list. They’re serious about taking care of their teeth and overall health. But they physically cannot get to the dentist’s office.
Patients who are immobile due to age, illness, or lack of transportation are at a disadvantage when it comes to taking care of their most basic needs – from grocery shopping to seeing a dentist. That’s where a special needs dentist — and more importantly, a mobile dentist — comes in.
Mobile Dentist
In some cases, dental care for immobile patients is critical, since people with limited mobility often have other health issues that can be compromised or made worse by poor oral hygiene.
It is exactly for patients such as these that Blende Dental Group created our mobile dentist unit. Our mobile dentistry patients include people who are confined to wheelchairs, patients in nursing homes, and patients who have medical conditions that restrict them to their homes because getting into a car is simply not possible.
Some of our mobile dentistry patients are struggling with diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, which makes it impossible for them to cooperate. Some cannot travel due to obesity or illnesses that prevent them from leaving their homes or the hospital. Others have such severe dental phobia that they simply cannot bring themselves to walk into a dentist office.
Making House Calls
Do you remember when doctors made house calls? They picked up their black bags and traveled around town, taking care of patients at home because many of those patients could not make it to an office for a visit. The traditional image of a doctor with his bag, ringing the doorbell in the dead of night, is one that many of us grew up with. This image has also been in countless movies and television shows.
But did you ever notice that the traveling doctor was never a dentist? After all, you can’t fit an x-ray machine in a doctor’s satchel.
Now, things are different. Modern technology has provided the tools and resources needed to put dental services on wheels and bring those services to the patients who need them the most. Our mobile dentist visits patients at their locations. We travel to private homes, residential care communities, nursing facilities, and hospitals. The Blende Dental Group will go wherever our patients need us throughout the Bay Area.
Which Treatments and Procedures Can a Mobile Dentist Provide?
You might think that a mobile dentist would be limited to basic cleanings and filling cavities, but we can do much more. Some of our mobile dentistry services include the following:
- Oral health examinations to evaluate dental needs, periodontal disease, oral cancer, infection, dental abscess, denture fit, and xerostomia
- Digital x-rays that can be viewed immediately
- Digital intra-oral photographs
- Basic cleanings
- Standard dental procedures such as extractions, complete and partial dentures, denture relines, custom night guards, and fluoride trays.
A mobile dentist offers many advantages to special needs patients. Because we go to our patients, we can accommodate people who are bedridden or in a wheelchair. Patients with dental phobias can avoid the worst of their fears by never having to visit the dentist’s office at all. Their treatments are done in the comfort of their own homes.
We might not be able to fit our equipment into a black bag, but we are honored to continue a tradition of home healthcare by providing mobile dentistry throughout the Bay Area.
Bay Area House Call Dentists is a division of the Blende Dental Group that provides mobile dentist services. To speak to a patient care coordinator or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-575-3375.