IS THERE A DENTIST IN THE HOUSE? YES, THERE IS!

Last week I walked into my Mom's seniors' residence and did a double-take. In the foyer, a woman wearing a white lab coat and paper face mask was peering into the mouth of a seated resident, the elderly woman's teeth illuminated by a headlamp on the examiner's head. 

I touched the arm of the home's manager and whispered, "Cathy, what's going on over there? Is that the doctor?" "No!" she smiled, "That's the dentist. She comes over once a month or so and takes care of all the ladies' teeth right here in the front hall." 

"What a fantastic idea!", I thought, and promised myself to find out more about this mobile dentistry service. Mom lives in Montreal, so the website of her terrific service is in French only, but the mobile dentists are all bilingual. 

I decided to look in other cities for similar services. Bingo! Look at this Mobile Dental Clinic in Toronto. And House Call Dentists meets a range of home dentistry needs in New York and San Francisco. Google your city using the search words 'mobile dentist seniors'. Most locations have a similar service. 

House Call Dentists even has an impressive focus on caregivers. From their webpage: 

House Call Dentists travel to our patients’ homes and residences to bring them expert, compassionate care. In doing so, we not only bring health to those patients, but also provide invaluable assistance to the family members and caregivers who are responsible for their welfare every single day.  As a family member and/or caregiver for an elderly person or someone with physical or emotional challenges, your commitment very likely goes beyond "responsibility" to something stronger. By bringing our dental services to you, we minimize the physical and emotional discomfort of the person you're caring for and minimize or eliminate your travel problems and logistical concerns.

Our entire staff has extensive experience working with elderly, infirm and phobic patients, including patients who are wheelchair bound and those with dementia.  Our expert and compassionate dentists and dental assistants treat our patients with genuine concern, making sure they are as calm and comfortable as possible. This, of course, is vital to your piece of mind, as well. 

Looking through the website of Toronto's Mobile Dental Clinic, I found other home visiting services too, such as mobile haircuts and denture fitting. Home visits by medical and other service professionals are just a fantastic idea for all caregiving families. 

And all of these mobile dentistry clinics offer treatments in supported living environments as well, including long term care homes. Pretty amazing, don't you think?