Mobile community care
The Tooth Bus is a mobile dental center that promotes remote access and expands outreach to patients in the community with health and social disparities.
Based at 3140 W. Buckeye Road · Serving Greater Phoenix.png)
Tooth Bus has a big job
In July 2018, a new two-chair mobile dental center was donated to Brighter Way Institute by UnitedHealthcare. Tooth Bus provides a fully contained and highly efficient delivery system, greatly expanding community partnerships and providing remote access to patients who are in greatest need of oral health care. Tooth Bus helps reduce disparities that prevent patients from traveling to a dental center by establishing outreach partnerships and “going to the patient.”
Tooth Bus BrochureOpen PDF ↗Mobile by design
Two treatment chairs and a highly efficient clinical environment make it possible to deliver assessments, education, urgent support, and connections to continuing care in neighborhoods across Maricopa County.
Each outreach partnership creates a practical bridge to a permanent Dental Home at one of Brighter Way’s centers when additional treatment is needed.
Community partnerships
In partnership with healthcare organizations and nonprofits, Tooth Bus travels to community health fairs and events across Maricopa County. Oral health professionals provide dental assessments, deliver hygiene and nutrition education to low-income children and their families, and distribute Smile Bags. Patients are often referred to one of the Brighter Way Dental Centers for oral health services.
Collaborating with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley, Tooth Bus expands oral health outreach to member Clubs in metro Phoenix and the East Valley. Through remote screenings and education, oral health professionals assess dental issues, make treatment recommendations, and provide an easy way for parents to find a permanent Dental Home at the BGCAZ Children's Dental Clinic.
Consistent with our mission to provide comprehensive oral health care to vulnerable populations, our collaboration with one.n.ten helps improve access to oral healthcare for LGBTQ youth, some of whom are experiencing homelessness. Brighter Way strives to provide direct oral health services as one intervention to remove barriers to their overall well-being.
In response to an articulated need expressed by the Phoenix Human Services Campus, Brighter Way oral health professionals utilize Tooth Bus to help assess emergency and urgent dental needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. Services are extended to other homeless encampments to address immediate oral health needs, help relieve pain, and schedule patients for facility treatment.
November 9, 2023
Naming celebration
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