Over the past 10 years, many Long Islanders have spotted a giant, eye-catching red van making its way through Nassau and Suffolk Counties — Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine’s Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic. Beyond sightings on the highways, the 40-foot clinic on wheels has garnered attention for the oral healthcare services it has provided to underserved communities in its decade of existence.

Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine’s Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic.

Offering a comprehensive scope of services, the Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic is fully equipped with three dental operatories and is manned by a team of experienced dental faculty, dental hygienists, dental assistants and pediatric dentistry residents.

It is readily evident that access to care has expanded through the Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic’s existence. Since the 15 patients of its inaugural year, the mobile clinic welcomed close to 800 patients in 2019 alone and is nearing 5,000 patient visits overall. Visitors are offered services, including oral health education, screenings, cleanings, fluoride treatments, routine operative care, sealants and emergency care.

The Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic partners with organizations providing critical services to vulnerable populations, including homeless shelters; human service agencies; elementary schools; Head Start Programs; Women, Infants and Children Programs; Give Kids A Smile® events; and health fairs.

Relationships with community programs through the Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic expand well beyond the initial visit. The mobile clinic returns to locations with regularity to ensure continuity of preventive and restorative care. Perhaps more importantly, all patients of the Mobile Oral Health Clinic are welcomed as patients of the Dental Care Center, the School of Dental Medicine’s teaching clinic, therefore establishing a “dental home.”

“The Mobile Oral Health Services Clinic has been essential in the dramatic expansion of oral healthcare outreach and services by the School of Dental Medicine in the past decade,” said Interim Dean Dr. Allan J. Kucine. “I am honored to have been part of the initial team integrating the mobile dental clinic into our programs and now look forward to the announcement of the gift of an additional mobile dental clinic in 2021. We will continue to expand these necessary services to our community with pride and dedication.”

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/featuredpost/dental-medicines-mobile-oral-health-services-clinic-celebrates-10-year-anniversary/