Dental Days seeks to improve oral health in the Commonwealth

“Dental Days” is a year-long tour to help improve oral health across the Commonwealth. People who attended got access to a complimentary dental screening and cleaning.

Lexington, Ky (WTVQ): Thursday, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky hosted “Dental Days” at Anthem Medicaid on New Circle Road. “Dental Days” is a year-long tour to help improve oral health across the Commonwealth. People who attended got access to a complimentary dental screening and cleaning.

Kare Mobile started back in 2018, and offers all services, from extractions to fillings, to orthodontics. “We see patients at their homes, we see patients at facilities, we do jails, halfway houses, small businesses,” said Aaron Brown, a dentist for Kare Mobile. “All over this state and multiple other states.”

The goal is to address dental deserts. “There’s a lot of dentists in the state, but patients can’t always access those. especially communities like these,” Brown said.

Brown says some factors that contribute to a dental desert is that many people may not have transportation, or time, to get to a dentist, especially.in urban and rural areas. “There are thousands of patients in all type of communities that don’t have it,” he said. “So, unfortunately, those need that could have been caught early and prevented turn into bigger issues.”

According to the CDC, only 60 percent of all Kentuckians have visited a dentist or dental clinic in the last year. Additionally, more than half of Kentuckians over the age of 65 have lost at least six teeth due to decay or gum disease, and at least 20 percent have lost all their teeth.

“Everything is systemic,” Brown said. “Your teeth are right away from your brain, they’re right away from your heart. So, there’s a lot of issues that with routine care can be caught early on, and can help the patient that way they’re not in pain, and they’re not at risk of septic things.”