“See, you really can’t even tell that it’s fake,” says Yvette Keen (pictured above), using both thumbs to pop out her partial denture. The partial glistens under the overhead light, the constructed teeth and gums near indistinguishable from her own in shape, size and color. It’s clear she takes a certain amount of delight in surprising people like this, because she’s right—the partial looks perfect.
Keen is one of many patients who receives regular care from the Delta Dental Center, which opened with support from the Delta Dental Foundation in 2017, at Thea Bowman Community Health Center, operated by Advantage Health (AH) in Detroit. She ended up there after visiting a series of other providers who, according to Keen, didn’t take her concerns seriously.
“I went to another dentist who took a look at my teeth, and they were comfortable with the idea of pulling them out along my smile line,” Keen says. “So, I came here, and I talked to Dr. Williams, and he said he wouldn’t dare pull all my teeth out. We came up with a better [treatment] plan together.”
Dr. Darrell Williams, one of the dentists at the Delta Dental Center, likes to present all the options so that his patients can make the best-possible decisions about their oral health.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from—everyone who sits in my chair receives care that respects their dignity,” Dr. Williams says.
What Dr. Williams is talking about is looking at each patient as a whole person rather than a collection of symptoms or circumstances. Federally qualified health centers, like AH, are uniquely positioned to offer patients a whole-person care experience, which addresses multiple dimensions of well-being. Their services are tailored to fit the needs of the communities they serve, and they provide care to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
At AH, patients have access to primary care, dental care, obstetrics and gynecology, pharmacy and behavioral health, in addition to a variety of enabling (non-clinical) services, such as translation and education, that help improve access to care. Their providers understand that all these aspects of health are interconnected.
As an example, if an AH clinician notices that one of their patients with diabetes isn’t improving, they may determine that there are underlying issues that need to be addressed before their patient can get better. The patient may benefit from behavioral health services so that they can get help forming healthy habits. That patient may need to see a dentist to treat periodontal disease, which can cause blood sugar to rise.
The primary care provider (or dentist) can explain this to the patient and then ensure the patient has a warm hand off to scheduling.
“Does your dentist talk to your primary care provider? For most people, the answer is no,” says Nina Abubakari, MPH, MBA, JD, FACHE, president and CEO of AH. “But at a federally qualified health center, you have access to multiple types of health care—often all under one roof. If someone wants to get well, we can offer a team-based approach to care.”
But none of this works without trust.
Kendra Lowe, a hygienist who works with Dr. Williams at the Delta Dental Center, says this starts by meeting people where they are, with no assumptions.
“A lot of patients come in scared, and if they don’t know me, they don’t know they’re going to have a good experience,” Lowe says. “I explain what I’m doing, I move slowly. I listen to what they’re saying. Usually, my calmness transfers to them, and by the time they leave, they say, ‘Oh, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,’ and I know I’m going to see them again.”
For Keen, a big part of why she returns to the Delta Dental Center, even bringing her children and grandchildren, is being heard. She believes that there’s a family “vibe” to the health center that makes a difference when it comes to care.
“It starts before you even get to the dentist,” Keen says. “Coming in here and meeting the receptionists—you know it’s going to be different. The atmosphere is comfortable. It’s inviting.”
That’s exactly the type of environment Abubakari and her team work hard to cultivate: holistic care, by and for the people they serve. It also helps to have staff who live in the communities being served.
“I grew up a few blocks away, so when I say we are the people we serve, I really mean it,” Abubakari says. “We’re in this community.”