In Finistère, a mobile dental office to treat the elderly

Monique, 79, lives in an Ehpad in Douarnenez. She has an appointment with a dentist that day. The old lady takes only a few steps to get there. The mobile dental office is parked in front of the entrance to the retirement home. “It’s great because there are a lot of people who can’t go to a dentist with a VSL, a taxi, or else they have to be accompanied. There, it’s more practical”, she explains.

This service is a relief for families who do not always have the time and the means to organize a consultation. Some residents have little or no dental follow-up. Which can cause health problems. “We know that when you don’t have dental care, there are more significant impacts in terms of pathology which can lead to emergency services. So it’s important to treat the problem from the start and to make prevention”, reports Sandrine Honnorat, manager of the Breizh Bucco Bus system.

The Breizh Bucco Bus also intervenes in medico-social structures. Outside, it is equipped with a lifting platform to accommodate people with reduced mobility. Inside, it looks like an ordinary dental office with all the necessary equipment for treatment.

“I have all the devices to do scaling, treat cavities. I have enough to make nomadic or panoramic radios”, rejoices Léna Quéré, dental surgeon employed by the Ildys Foundation, who was behind the creation of the mobile dental practice. Launched a year ago, the Breizh Bucco Bus has enabled more than 1,200 patients to have a consultation with a dentist.