Filling in the Gaps

UB Dental Van.

Thanks to generous donors, students can care for patients from underserved communities, including those with disabilities, in the School of Dental Medicine’s new mobile dental clinic,

Barbara Hoffman faced a dilemma when she heard the news: Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo would shut down their dental clinic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finding a dentist to treat her sons—one of whom has Down syndrome and the other who is autistic—is an exceedingly difficult task. Thankfully, Hoffman’s search came to an end when she received a flyer for the University at Buffalo’s S-Miles To Go program, a mobile dental clinic that travels to treat underserved communities. Her children received care through the program, with the UB dentists even scheduling five free visits for one of her sons to sit in the dental chair and become comfortable with the new providers before receiving his first treatment. 

Dental van ribbon cutting.

For more than 20 years, S-Miles To Go has served as the safety net for dental care for thousands of people in Western New York who, like Hoffman’s children, would otherwise go untreated. The program is especially critical for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who face immense barriers to oral health care that range from a lack of adequate coverage through Medicaid to a shortage of dentists trained to meet their needs.

“The population has been ostracized because their disabilities require additional time for treatment, and Medicaid and other insurances don’t adequately reimburse dentists for this time,” says Paula Fischer, director of school-based dental programs in the UB School of Dental Medicine.

Stephen Abel, senior director of community and professional initiatives in the dental school, asks, “How do we inspire students to know that with their diploma comes a responsibility to care for those who can’t necessarily care for themselves; and to make life a little better for all, not just for those who can afford it?” 

Two of S-Miles To Go’s greatest advocates are the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation and the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, which provide funding to operate the school’s mobile dental van at Arc GLOW locations serving nearly 2,000 individuals with disabilities in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties. Funding from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has enabled UB to deploy a second, 40-foot-long mobile dental clinic as well, significantly increasing the number of patients who will now receive care.

In addition to serving the unmet needs of the community, the program also provides dental students with real-world learning opportunities caring for vulnerable populations in the region—with the aim that graduates will continue to treat and advocate for those patients.

“Training young dentists to be more sensitive and aware of our population and some of their challenges is helpful. There’s not a lot of people who will perform the work, so it compounds the problem as poor dental health is tied to other health issues,” says Martin Miskell, chief executive officer of Arc GLOW.

Dentist working on a child patient.

A win-win-win

“To make students more aware of issues facing people with disabilities and to give them more opportunities working with underserved communities is a win-win for the students, the community and UB,” says John Craik, program officer at Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. Kevin Ryan, director of the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, adds, “The important work of the University at Buffalo and its partners will ensure a better tomorrow by increasing access to quality, affordable oral health care where age, race and socioeconomic disparities exist. Oral health is overall health and Delta Dental believes that good oral health can help us build more equitable, resilient and caring communities.”