The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio) - Does the Future of Dental Care Roll on Wheels?

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

In 2023, dental hygienist Jose Moreno Garcia took a bold step by leaving his office job to launch Universal Dental Center, a mobile dental hygiene clinic. Discover how independent dental hygiene practices are booming in Canada, with a 48% increase in solo practitioners over the last 5 years (Canadian Dental Hygienists Association). Join field producer Jeyan Jeganathan as he takes a ride across Toronto with Jose to explore how he's filling the gaps in dental hygiene and changing the industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Ready to go. Just so you know, I never owned a, phone. Ready to go. Just so you know, I never owned a trailer and I had to learn. I had to learn quick. Get your lights, make sure everything is secured. For the past year, this has been Jose Moreno Garcia's morning routine. In 2023, he ditched his job as a dental hygienist in an office for a trailer hitch, opening the Universal Dental Center, a mobile dental hygiene clinic.

I said to myself, how much space do I really need to take care of my clientele? And you know, nine feet that way and eight feet this way. So let's go find something that is close to that or near to it. And this is where it basically came down to. Say ah. The trailer is fitted with all the bells and whistles of a dental office and offers the same level of service as most hygienists. If anybody needs a referral, we put together a referral.

But for the most part, it's pretty much, you know, cleaning, routine stuff and sharing experiences. And I think, you know, what I enjoy the most is hearing the stories. For an added touch, Jose has reggae music playing in the background, a long-standing tradition from his time working in a dental office. The trailer is also equipped with LED strip lights. While designing an inviting space, his ultimate goal is to bridge the gap in dental care by meeting people where they are, both physically and financially. It's not cheap to get your teeth cleaned. On average right now, if I were to tell you check up, cleaning, you know, you get your polished, you might get some fluoride,

some x-rays out of the dental office, you're looking at about $230, which people don't have at this time. You gotta make sure that this is not going through haywire. With everything secured, Jose starts his day. Getting on the road with this thing is not the easiest thing in life. But when you're there, the destination is the best thing ever. His first stop is at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. Jennifer Hammond is the community health navigator here at the centre. For over 60 years the NCCT has been a community hub, offering cultural programs, workshops and support services for Indigenous people.

This is our auditorium and we have this is where our weekly socials are every Thursday. Jennifer runs different clinics throughout the year including Harm Reduction, Vision and more recently Tental. reduction, vision and more recently dental. Jose had reached out to me when he was getting his mobile clinic started. He said that he could come out and run a dental clinic and have people come and just get their teeth cleaned here. They were like oh how are we going to do this like am I coming into the building? Like they just didn't understand the whole concept. Actually, neither did I, to be honest, when we first connected. I thought he was going to set up in our auditorium and then he shows up with this trailer that

was fully equipped for the patients with the chair and everything. I was just so amazed. Jose serves some of the city's most vulnerable people. Not only can Jose treat people from his trailer, but since his equipment is portable, he can meet clients like those in care homes directly at their bedside. In many cases, basic dental care is covered through provincial or federal programs, like the Ontario Disability Support Program or the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Preventative care I think is so important because that will you know lead to people

who are having their teeth longer and it also affects people's confidence when they have to lose their you know their teeth, their adult teeth. Accessing it too with that is low cost is important and you know Jose has been remarkable with his pricing and reaching the communities that don't typically have access to dental care. When that's not available, Jose sets up flat rates that are affordable and sometimes he's gone the extra step and offered dental care free of charge. It was amazing I felt super comfortable he explained everything while he was doing it and I feel like my teeth are reborn. Last time I went was maybe a year ago to get a filling and then the last time I

had a cleaning was over two years ago which is probably not the best answer. I work part-time, so it's really hard to pay for the dentist and all these medical expenses because I don't have benefits. Dental hygienists are licensed health care professionals who normally work alongside dentists to maintain oral health. Turn towards me. Outside of routine cleaning, hygienists can also perform oral cancer screenings and examine for other oral diseases.

In Canada, legislation allows dental hygienists to provide some care without the presence of a dentist. We as dental hygienists in this province pretty much are the only profession where it's self-regulated with the college that look overseas our standards, but we still have to walk into somebody's place of work and to get employment. It doesn't sit well with a lot of people. It hasn't sat well with a lot of people for a long time.

I believe there's common ground where dentists, hygienists can work together, and kudos to you if you still want to do you know some some work in a dental clinic. I sometimes still do it because I have friends who own practices and they want me in there. But more and more hygienists want to be their own boss. Jose represents a growing number of dental hygiene professionals who are going independent.

We go over things, see how healthy the gums are. According to the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association, in the past five years it has seen a 48% increase in the number of independent dental hygiene practices being opened. The biggest hurdle is financial. I walked into a plaza and I was looking for an office space, brick and mortar. Had the office design and everything and then I started looking at the cost and how expensive it is. And you know most dentists out there are able to finance these things even fresh out of school.

For most hygienists it's nearly impossible to get that kind of money. Dental hygiene is the sixth largest registered health profession in Canada, with over 31,000 registered hygienists. Just over 40% of them are here in Ontario. But according to Jose, current provincial regulations limit what a hygienist can do in their own practices. Alberta is the poster child for hygienists in this country. They're autonomous.

Basically, they can take x-rays, they can diagnose periodontal disease, they can give anesthetic if you need it. And what troubles me is that we're not there all across the country. And that comes with education. Whenever I talk to many dentists, as long as the hygienist has taken the proper education, the qualifications, they should be able to do that. So autonomy to me is this, but I wish there was more that we could do within our scope of practice. It's unclear exactly how many hygienists have chosen to go mobile, but as Jose can attest,

taking it on the road comes with its own set of unique challenges. People always ask me, how are you going to get patients? How are you going to get clients? Where are they coming from? It was a challenge in the beginning but you impress one person the whole community comes together to support you. What's up man? Jose, good time. Good, good, good. You alright?

Jose recently partnered with the Christie-Ausington Neighbourhood Centre which provides shelter and transitional housing in Toronto's West End. Andrew Officer is the shelter manager at the centre's Rexdale location, a hotel turned shelter. When you're under house, dental is the last thing you think about. You usually need several appointments and because we're located in Rexdale, it's challenging for some of our clients to be able to travel downtown Toronto, discover where they originally come from, and can be an obstacle. We also found out that a lot of people just have this

phobia about the dentists and the hygiene. So when you can take away a lot of the barriers, which Jose does, by coming to the facility, having a warm face, knowing it's literally two meters away from where you live, it allowed people to be more engaging. Jose is no stranger to the shelter system. At a young age, he and his family fled Nicaragua during the country's revolution. They eventually made their way to Texas before seeking asylum in Canada. September 28, 1990 was when we arrived in Toronto. It was a little bit of snow on the ground and that

was it. You know, ended up the first home, bread door shelter. And I'll always be grateful for the people that were there that helped us. But you know, that's pretty much where this comes from. And seeing my parents work two, three, four jobs, you know, seeing my father carry our groceries in the middle of winter, because he didn't have a car when he got that, right?

And so, you know, I'm grateful for everything that they've done, because all of my siblings are now enjoying the fruits of it, right? That's what we do. He is true to his word, and that's powerful, because Jose actually does it because he cares. Jose has actually taken on some of our clients here without pay. He is truly a man of his word.

He wants to help. He wants to give back to the community. So for those who don't know Jose, or for those who've had bad experiences, he'll rewrite the chapter for you. Hopefully next time around we got enough equipment to do x-rays and all these things. This is just the beginning of Jose's latest chapter. He has ambitious plans for his mobile dental hygiene clinic, fueled by his passion to meet people where they are and create a meaningful impact on their lives. I've spoken to people from St. John's,

Newfoundland, to all the way in British Columbia and it's a common goal. We just want to deliver the services with the skill that we're good with, right? But everybody has the same stories, you know, trying to detach ourselves, take that umbilical cord from the dental clinic and set up your own business.