People experiencing homelessness often face significant barriers to accessing dental care which leads many to seek relief for dental pain in hospitals' emergency departments. This not only results in higher healthcare costs but also fails to provide definitive delta treatment which further perpetuates a cycle of inadequate care. Non-traumatic dental conditions account for around 1.8% of all emergency department visits in the US, which comes out to over 2 million visits a year. A large percentage of these visits are, unfortunately, people who lack regular access to dental care, especially those experiencing homelessness. The financial issues of dental-related emergency visits are also considerable. In 2017, the total cost of these visits was more than $2 billion nationwide. This highlights the inefficiency of using emergency services for dental issues, especially when these visits rust in a very brief relief. Another issue with this reliance is that emergency departments are not usually equipped to provide comprehensive dental treatments. Patients typically receive things like pain management without addressing the underlying dental problems. This leads to recurring visits for the same reasons, increasing overall healthcare costs without improving oral health outcomes.
https://intjem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12245-022-00435-3
To mitigate these issues we could try several things. One way could be to enhance access to preventive dental care. By expanding our community-based dental practices, we can provide preventive and restorative services to the underserved population in Portland. Another way is to integrate dental and medical services. Combining dental with primary care settings can help comprehensive care and early intervention. Emergency departments often serve as a last or only resort for dental care, but they can only provide temporary relief rather than addressing root causes. Expanding access to preventative dental care and integrating dental services into primary care can help lessen the reliance on the ER and make sure that there are lasting solutions for those experiencing homelessness.
Links to Affordable Care and More Information:
Bridges Collaborative Care Clinic:
https://www.bridgesclinic.org/faqs-1
Student-run, inter-professional free clinic offering dental services to the underserved
Coalition of Community Health Clinics:
https://coalitionclinics.org/find-a-clinic/dental-clinics
Offers a list of dental clinics in Portland providing full dental services, including exams, x-rays, extractions and fillings.
Medical Teams International:
Provides dental care to people experiencing homelessness, known for their mobile dental bus!
More about Oral Health and Homeless Children:
More About Oral Health and Homeless Pets:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9236561/
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