National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped

The National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (NFDH); a charitable affiliate of the American Dental Association; is committed, through collaboration, to arrange comprehensive dental treatment and long-term preventive services to needy disabled, elderly or medically compromised individuals through a national network of direct service programs that involve 15,000 volunteer dentists and 3,000 volunteer laboratories.

The Dental HouseCalls program was established to bring care to people who cannot easily travel to dentists’ offices: residents of nursing homes, homebound individuals and developmentally disabled people attending day programs or living in residential centers.  A fully equipped, portable dental office is transported in a van and set-up at bedside or in the facilities so dentists can serve these individuals.  Without this service, most of these people would go without any kind of dental care—it is their only access to treatment.  The program is staffed by a full-time Coordinator who drives the van, sets up and dismantles the equipment, helps the dentists at chair side, and schedules the system.  With this support, dentists can provide a full range of dental therapies.  Complicating access problems, most of the people served by Dental HouseCalls cannot work or they earn very little income and cannot afford needed treatment.  Dentists from the community use the van system and because of the financial limitations of most patients, often donate or discount their services substantially.  

 

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