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Comprehensive dental services for an underserved and medically compromised population provided through a community partnership and service learning
Author(s) -
Chávez Elisa M.,
LaBarre Eugene,
Fredekind Richard,
Isakson Paul
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.2010.00135.x
Subject(s) - medicine , service (business) , general partnership , nursing , dental care , population , public health , dental public health , oral health , health care , prosthodontics , family medicine , gerontology , medical education , dentistry , environmental health , economy , finance , economics , economic growth
The University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco established a comprehensive dental care program at Laguna Honda Hospital, a public, skilled nursing facility. The program had three goals: (1) to provide dental students and residents an opportunity to provide oral health care for adults who were frail and medically compromised who could not come into the clinics, (2) to increase students’ access to patients who needed removable prosthodontics, and (3) to fulfill Pacific's commitment to public service. Laguna Honda and Pacific pooled their resources to bring comprehensive dental care to patients who were not able to access the dental school clinics. The long‐term goals are to restore and maintain the oral health of those who reside in the facility, and to educate future dentists to provide oral health care for similar populations.