Purpose: To develop innovative tools for the delivery of dental services to all under-privileged Thais living in rural areas.
Method: The study involved 151 volunteer dentists in a participatory action research in dental mobile service. Over a period of one year they served 16,417 individuals presenting for dental mobile service who were rural-dwellers from five provinces in a Northern region of Thailand.
Results: Treatments provided during the course of the project involved mainly oral prophylaxis, dental fillings, and extractions, and it became apparent that there was a real need for the development of dental education programs to benefit both patients and members of the community generally. Socioeconomic factors, inadequate dental health information, cultural and language issues, and limited access to professionals cause problems for rural people. Patients who received treatment in the project felt that the availability of an on-going mobile dental service such as the "Por-Or Sor-Wor" could meet their needs.
Conclusion: It appears that an innovative development such as the "Por-Or Sor-Wor" mobile dental service, providing a comprehensive oral rehabilitation service, could do much to reduce the inequity in access to oral health care experienced by disadvantaged rural-dwellers.