In March the Toothbus arrived in Skinner Street, Poole to provide free dental check-ups at the Routes to Roots’ drop-in. This event gave homeless and vulnerably housed people in Poole the opportunity to see a dentist for a checkup. It can be difficult to look after your dental health if you’re homeless. R2R client Karen said: “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 e.g. 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.
R2R Chair, Rev Pat Southgate 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.”
The Toothbus Manager, Angie Naughton said: “We’d like to thank Healthwatch Dorset and 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 on Poole High Street on Mondays and on Boscombe High Street on Fridays. So, if you haven’t seen a dentist in two years or more, pop down and see them, there’s details on their website:www.toothbus.co.uk
Susan Gittins
