Attitudes Towards the Homeless and Oral Care

 

The Homeless and the Need for Oral Care

Oral hygiene and preventative dental care are necessary to maintain satisfactory oral health. There are societal barriers that prevent certain groups of people from receiving the oral care they need to live a healthy life. Homeless people often lack the necessary oral health care. As of 2023, the "Tri-County recorded 6,297 unsheltered individuals in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties, representing one of the highest totals in the country" (KGW, 2025). Considering the number of homeless people in the Portland Metropolitan Area, it is unjust, but also natural that this group of people in the area suffer from poor oral health due to a lack of basic human resources like sufficient food, shelter, finances, and health services.

The Importance of Oral Care Resources

The homeless population in the Tri-County area needs local support from their neighbors and humanitarian organizations to receive proper dental care as they do not have the appropriate means to seek such health care by themselves. The Mobile Dental Program is an international program that provides emergency oral care services to those who suffer from poverty and homelessness (Medical Teams International). Mobile dental care services need oral health professionals, donors, and those who benefit from the services to serve their true humanitarian purpose. Although people in the Portland Metropolitan area realize that homelessness is a disparity that occurs around and among them, they refuse to learn about the societal issues and barriers that prevent the homeless face from achieving a better quality of life.

Oral Care Providers and their Attitudes Towards the Homeless

The ascription to negative attitudes about the homeless prevents people from becoming aware of the oral health injustices that they face. A population that will encounter homeless individuals with poor oral health are dentists and dental students. For the homeless to achieve good dental health, it is critical to understand the attitudes that oral care professionals hold for those needing oral care. Suppose dentists and dental students lean towards thinking negatively about homeless patients. In that case, it is important to understand why they hold those attitudes so that they convert to realistic and more positive attitudes about the vulnerable population. Habibian et al. studied the attitudes that dental students have "toward homeless people while providing oral health care" (2010). Habiban et al. found that "students’ overall attitudes toward homeless people improved after spending only seven days (one day per week) treating" a homeless population" (2010). As the students in this study worked with a homeless population in need of oral care, they learned to lower their stigmatization against this community and worked well under the supervision of experienced dental staff. Overall, the attitudes of dental students towards homeless patients positively changed after interacting with them interpersonally. It is a beneficial and prosocial goal that "dental [...]education should [...] help dental students understand the social factors that relate to and impact health for all special needs groups. Experiential opportunities to care for disadvantaged individuals in community sites help to drive this message home" (Habibian et al., 2010).

The Need For Properly Trained Oral Care Professionals and the Homeless

Providing donations to humanitarian organizations focused on delivering oral care to people in need and training oral care professionals who will devote time to serving vulnerable populations are sizable solutions to fighting the homeless oral care disparity. A reputable program worthy of donation is the Mobile Dental Program. Dental care professionals must be taught to work with populations who face multiple health and societal injustices.

 

References

Habibian, M., Elizondo, L., & Mulligan, R. (2010). Dental students’ attitudes toward homeless people while providing oral health care. Journal of Dental Education, 74(11), 1190-1196.

Haskins, D. (2025, January 21). Tri-County homeless count begins in Portland area with new survey tools. KGW. https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/multnomah-clackamas-washington-county-2025-homelessness-point-in-time-count/283-6f2cab0b-c6a4-4037-8b08-18a34254a7e7

Medical Teams International. (2025, January 25). Mobile dental program. https://www.medicalteams.org/how-we-heal/mobile-dental-program/