A Tale of Two Hygienists is launching a series on how professionals and patients integrate dental treatment with other forms of medical care. For this week, Andrew and Michelle have invited a guest who specializes in oral health care for the senior population.
Sonya Dunbar has been a dental hygienist for over 30 years. Known as “the Geriatric Toothfairy,” she is the founder and CEO of Mobile Dental Xpress, which brings oral health care to elderly patients housed in long-term care facilities. Sonya is a national speaker on the importance of oral care for elderly patients, trains nursing home staff, and also provides seniors with “S.O.S. packs” that contain 3-6 months of oral health care products.
In this episode, Sonya discusses the reasons why younger hygienists are hesitant to work with seniors, explains why they should move past these apprehensions, and makes a case for why you should sponsor one of her S.O.S. Packs.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Interview starts: 10:16
– Sonya explains why working with seniors has been a lifelong passion for her.
– Why so many younger hygienists and dental professionals are averse to treating the elderly.
– What services does Mobile Dental Xpress provide its patients and how do they charge for them?
– How Sonya trains her team, holds them accountable, and meets any challenges that come their way.
– Some of the more frequent ailments amongst the senior population.
– Why professionals in private practices should make a point of scheduling geriatric patients for either the first or last session of the day.
– The reason Sonya and her team typically don’t treat patients in short-term care.
– What can be found in Sonya’s S.O.S. packages and how you can sponsor one.
– How to tell if an elderly patient at your private practice is no longer able to take care of their oral health as well as they used to.
QUOTES:
“If you put me between a rock and a hard place, the hard place is gonna lose because I’m coming out fighting!”
“I’m on your team and we’re here to save these residents, and this is what we’re gonna do.”
“We need to bring awareness to our seniors and long-term care facilities because it’s like they’re a forgotten population and it’s making my heart break.”
“The mouth is the window of your health.”
“It’s not easy; it has to be something you want to do.”
LINKS:
The Geriatric Toothfairy – https://www.geriatrictoothfairy.org/
S.O.S. Packs – https://www.geriatrictoothfairy.org/sos-packs/
S.O.S. Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1384024545112325/
Geriatric Toothfairy on Twitter – https://twitter.com/gtoothfairy?lang=en
Thank you to Paradise Dental Technologies aka PDT for providing sponsorship for this episode!
Be sure to thank the sponsor for this episode by heading over to www.PDTDental.com and picking up a new instrument or telling them thank you in person at one of the conferences!
THIS EPISODE COUNTS FOR CE! – but read the disclaimer below as it might not count for your state.
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