A Mobile Dentist could be coming your way

Thursday 14th January 2010

Forget the ice cream man making his appearance down your road every day during the summer months; it now appears we could be seeing mobile dentists down our streets! Sound bizarre? It is a new innovative idea created by DentalXpress who hope to reach out to the thousands of people who are unable to get registered at their local dentist. With around 50% of dentists being unable to add anyone onto their systems, the necessity for an innovation like DentalXpress are offering is clear.

Many of us may remain skeptical as to whether this is another money-making scheme; but DentalXpress assure patients their priorities lie in getting treatment to those hard to reach places. With the company priding themselves on wanting to deliver social change, they hope to reinvest a quarter of their profits into expanding their service of NHS dentistry to universities, schools, the armed forces, prisoners and so on. The scheme works with the use of a ready-to-go mobile unit which can be situated wherever necessary. It is cost effective and efficient and provides an answer to the Primary Care Trust’s apprehension of investing thousands of pounds into building new dentists clinics should the demand for dentists cease to rise.

So how does it work? The mobile unit offers much of what your normal dentist clinic will offer, with a waiting room, reception, several treatment rooms, disabled toilet, staff room and fully trained NHS dentists and nurses. The mobile unit will be situated in an accessible place, and offers patients a freephone telephone number to book appointments which will be confirmed by e-mail or text. Additionally, the unit will be available for up to 6 weeks in one particular area before returning on at least a monthly basis.

If you are looking out for your local mobile unit, the first Primary Care Trust to initiate the scheme is NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland, but 6 other national Primary Care Trusts are negotiating talks for the DentalXpress scheme. Once in the county, the unit should serve around 400 people per month.

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