[The "Mobile Dental Health Clinic of the South-West" (1)].

Abstract

One of the important mandates given to community health departments is to study and evaluate, in collaboration with other establishments, the organization and functioning of the territorial health services and, as a result, assure that everyone becomes part of the global picture of health and social service resources. It is for this specific reason that the Community Health Department of the Verdun Hospital Centre (DSC Verdun) dealt with the concept of accessibility to dental services for seniors living in nursing homes. We began by evaluating this clientele in order to verify the 1982 findings of researchers Simard, Brodeur, Kandelman and Lepage on the oral-dental health of Quebecers of 65 years of age and more. We found that in the territory around the DSC Verdun that the state of oral-dental health of the elderly living in nursing homes was quite deplorable and even worse than the average found throughout Quebec. Furthermore, we noticed the absence of dental clinics and services in almost all the establishments. Some elements of a solution will be reviewed in this article.