Last week the Toothbus parked up in Skinner Street, Poole to provide free dental check ups at the Routes to Roots drop-in centre for homeless people.
This event, organised by Healthwatch Dorset, gave homeless and vulnerably housed people in Poole the opportunity to see a dentist for a check-up. It can be difficult to look after your dental health if you’re homeless. Karen, told us, “I was really nervous about seeing a dentist because I know I need some work done, but the Toothbus dentist was very friendly and put me at ease. They also gave me some great advice”
There are a lot of health problems that are exacerbated by poor dental health eg. heart conditions, diabetes and pneumonia. Poor dental health can also affect how someone feels about themselves, so it’s important that everyone has easy access to NHS dental treatment.
Rev Pat Southgate from Routes to Roots explained, “we support a number of homeless people who have been refused urgent dental care in the past because they weren’t registered with a dentist. We’re very grateful to Healthwatch Dorset for organising this Toothbus visit, it’s provided a safe place for the people we work with to get a dental check.”
Healthwatch Dorset took part in a national report on people’s experiences of dentistry from across the country last year. Healthwatch England found that there are three areas requiring particular attention; access, information and complaints. There are also real gaps in provision for particular groups, such as those in care homes, people with disabilities, refugees and people who are homeless.
Joyce Guest, Healthwatch Dorset chairman, said: “There are a number of issues local people have raised with us about NHS dentistry across Dorset. It can be hard to find a dentist taking NHS patients, costs are sometimes unclear and almost half the children in Dorset didn’t see a dentist last year.
“It’s important that people can get the care and advice they need. When people can’t get an appointment or services aren’t made available to them, they can be left in pain or without check-ups to help avoid tooth problems at a later stage.”
The Toothbus Manager, Angie Naughton told us, “we’d like to thank Healthwatch Dorset & Routes to Roots for a great afternoon. The dentist saw 10 patients at the event and everyone received details of how to register with a local dentist for ongoing treatment.
The Toothbus is available to everyone, it usually parks up in Poole High Street on Mondays and in Boscombe High Street or Bournemouth Square on Fridays. So, if you haven’t seen a dentist in 2 years or more – pop down and see us, there’s details on our website www.toothbus.co.uk”.
Routes to Roots offers support and a place of safety for people who are homeless. They are currently inviting donations to help them continue their work. If you are able to donate your money or time to help, please contact them at [email protected] or call 01202 667880.
