ISSN: 2456-8090 (online)

DOI: 10.26440/IHRJ/0601.04505

 

Improving Oral Health Through Mobile Dentistry

 

 MANASI SHARMA*1 , AVNI MAHAJAN1 , ANSHITA BAGLWAN1

 

Cite this article as: Sharma A, Mahajan M, Baglwan A. Improving Oral Health Through Mobile Dentistry. Int Healthc Res J. 2022;6(1):RV1-RV3. https://doi.org/10.26440/IHRJ/0601.04505

 

Author Affiliations:

1. Intern, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Himachal Dental College, Sundernagar (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1771-108X, Manasi Sharma;  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7813-6002, Avni Mahajan; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4046-8479, Anshita Baglwan).

 

Contact Corresponding Author at: manasisharmads0202[at]gmail[dot]com

 

ABSTRACT

Oral health diseases are one of the major challenges faced by the general population.  Dental caries and periodontal diseases have higher prevalence in the people living in rural areas. To address such population and to overcome the conventional oral health care strategies, Mobile Dental Van  (MDV) was introduced. They are utilized in school-based programs, delivering oral health care to homeless, migrants, specially abled, old and poor individuals. Screening, treatment, health education and motivation all are carried out in the event.

 

KEYWORDS: Dentistry, Oral Health, Dental Care

 

INTRODUCTION

Mobile Dental Vehicle (MDVs) is assumed to interact with the dental needs of rural as well as urban populations, e.g. by conducting school-based oral health programs, and by providing dental care services to the homeless,  migrants, residents of rural or remote areas, people from low socioeconomic communities and many more (Figure 1).

MDV’S USE IN ORAL HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEM

A bus or a truck can be converted into a Mobile Dental Vehicle. Its components are generator compartment, driving compartment, registration counter and waiting area, and a dental surgery room. MDV has a generator set and it supplies 3-phase power to hold up the electricity required by the dental clinic. So, A mobile dental vehicle also has a fresh water tank, a drain water tank, and a recycle water tank. The fresh water is  for clinical use. Before the safe disposal of waste water, it is collected in the drain water tank. The recycle water tank constantly circulates and gives rise to a moving current which creates a vacuum environment. It is essential to produce a suction force for the clinical aspirator (Figure 2).

USE OF MDV’S FOR DELIVERING DENTAL CARE TO RURAL POPULATION

 MDV is considered to be self-reliant as it is able to deliver oral health care  to the residents of rural areas. It is not necessary for the dentist to stay in the rural areas all the time to deliver MDV services, therefore urban-based dental practitioners can work temporarily, particularly who are taking advanced training in public health dentistry. MDV has proved to be of great benefit to the people living in outskirts of the city because of its mobile nature. For sparsely populated areas, multiple visits are arranged periodically. An MDV has a wheelchair-friendly design which makes it easier to treat those with disabilities and for people who can not commute long distance [Figure 3 (a) & (b)]. 

Alternate link to table(s)/figure(s): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vKkiQqx0hXdHgNIRtw13jugwovgP7TKW/view?usp=sharing

MERITS OF MDV

MDV has proved to be of great advantage to students of Public health dentistry as it is a dental clinic with four wheel, which makes it auspicious to deliver dental care to the residents of rural areas. 

DE-MERITS OF MDV

The major disadvantage of an MDV  is that it demands high maintenance. For the preservation of the vehicle a specialised team is needed. The team must have an accurate understanding of vehicle maintenance, building facilities, mechanics, hydraulics and equipment knowledge for the dental visit to run smoothly. One of the major disadvantage of MDVs is that complex and advanced facilities are not available, making it difficult to treat patients with compromised health. MDV services are highly affected by geographic and climatic conditions.

SOME OTHER MERITS OF USING MDV’S:

The treatments done in such MDV’s cost less when compared with the  treatments done in the hospital dental clinic. Hence, this economical  service proves favourable to poor people who cannot afford to seek treatment in ordinary dental clinics. It not only satisfies rural population but also helps impart great amount of exposure to Dental Professionals. Maximum dentists wants to work in urban areas as their knowledge on rural dental care is quite limited. It provides a link  between dental professionals and population of rural areas that provides dental professionals with a suitable and distinctive opportunity to engage in public health services that  limits on the poor resources of rural areas. It develops affinity with  the people living in rural section  that have much more oral health needs. Hence, due to this MDV service, dentists are better engaged with the population of rural areas. So, this MDV program is an accommodation that provides benefit to both the residents of rural section and the participating dental staff. 

CONCLUSION

There are different perspectives of residents of urban and rural areas about the oral health. Hence, the use of MDV service can be an encouraging strategy to provide dental care to the population of rural areas with their high portability, self-sustaining and economical nature. 

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© Manasi Sharma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY-NC 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the use is not commercial and the original author(s) and source are cited.

Submitted on: 06-Mar-2021;  Accepted on: 25-Apr-2021