Development and Implementation of a Dental Institution-Based Oral Health Helpline

Objectives: An oral health helpline was developed to support access to oral health information and resources for underserved community members. This pilot project report describes the helpline’s development and preliminary outcomes from January 2021 to December 2022.
Methods: The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Dentistry developed the Dental Link helpline to provide free oral health information, referrals to suitable oral health care clinics, and aid navigating public dental benefits. Following every interaction, the virtual provider documented the user’s gender, reason for contact, barriers to oral health care, and the resources provided. Users were offered a follow-up to assess referral outcomes and asked to participate in an online survey assessing their satisfaction with the service and any suggestions for improvement. Descriptive statistics (e.g., percentages) are used to present the findings.
Results: The development involved establishing infrastructure (phone, e-mail), supporting documents (information database, promotional flyer, participant satisfaction survey, process flowchart), and personnel (dental hygienist, dental hygiene students). There were 118 interactions with 72 individuals, of which 60 (83.3%) were seeking oral health care, 11 (15.3%) requested information, and 5 (6.94%) attempted to reach an existing student. Referrals to lower barrier community clinics were offered to 59 (81.9%) users, while 26 (36.1%) received information on public dental benefits, oral health, function of the helpline, and 5 (6.94%) were connected to their student provider. Of the 32 users seeking oral health care who could be followed-up, 5 (15.6%) received dental services and 17 (53.1%) received free dental hygiene services. Fourteen users (19.4%) completed a satisfaction survey, of which 13 surveys had positive responses and 1 survey had a neutral response.
Conclusions: The helpline facilitated access to oral health care by providing oral health-related information and guidance on pathways of care. Research is needed on how dental educational institutions might incorporate teledentistry to support underserved populations.