My dream of becoming a dentist all began when I was just eight years old. I found myself intrigued in this field of medicine and that has transpired throughout my life to this day. Dentistry is my passion and serving with the National Health Corps (NHC) as a patient navigator at Sulzbacher Dental Clinic in Jacksonville FL gets me one step closer to my dream every day. My host site gives me the opportunity to learn, teach, and become inspired with dentistry. The abundance of knowledge I have gained and will gain at my host site will be a great foundation in me starting dental school at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in the fall.
As I dove more into the dental field during my time at my undergraduate institution, I quickly realized my passion for serving those communities and individuals with less access to care. The need for dental care in these communities is outstanding, but individuals struggle with obtaining care due to financial struggles. Dental work can be very expensive especially without some form of insurance. Those with limited access to care due to the social determinants of health often sometimes don’t have the financial means to afford insurance, which therefore causes a lack of dental care to be received. At my host site, Sulzbacher Dental Clinic, these obstacles in receiving dental care are not only widely understood but there are efforts taken to alleviate the problem.
Sulzbacher Dental Clinic is a federally qualified health center that aims to provide dental services to populations that face financial struggles and limitations who are in serious need of oral health care. I serve as the dental eligibility coordinator within the clinic and have a front-row view of how amazing the clinic is and how it is capable of changing one's life. As the dental eligibility coordinator, I have the responsibility of getting patients eligible to then become regular recurrent patients within the clinic. The patient population at Sulzbacher dental clinic ranges from many different people and backgrounds, with one commonality and that is they all face some financial struggle or disparity. Because of this, all patients are put onto a sliding fee scale they must pay for services. These fees in comparison to private practices are drastically low and much more affordable. Dental procedures can be very expensive due to their extensivity, but at Sulzbacher patients have access to these services at a price they are able to afford and be comfortable with paying.
Throughout my time serving at Sulzbacher dental clinic and serving as the dental eligibility coordinator, I have been able to play an important role within the Jacksonville FL lower-income community. I have been able to complete extensive research in oral health care and hygiene as a whole. Another part of my position description that I have participated in has been oral health care and hygiene outreach within the community. I have been able to teach oral hygiene classes to people giving them an outlet for more education surrounding oral health care and how to best maintain a healthy mouth. I have done this mainly for adults thus far who come into the clinic, but as the months of my service term continue I plan on teaching my oral hygiene classes to a range of more people. I am in the process of preparing an oral hygiene class to present to parents of children ages 3-5 years old and also target more middle school/high school-aged young adults.
I can honestly say this experience with serving with the National Health Corps thus far has been nothing short of amazing. I am living out my passion of not only serving within the dental field but also helping provide oral health care to populations who are truly at a disadvantage who are in need. I can’t wait to continue on with the rest of my service term and be a beacon within the Jacksonville FL community, advocating for dental care services and healthy oral health and hygiene practices within the population.
