Travelling miles for better smiles, a dental hygienist takes her clinic on the road

A central Newfoundland dental hygienist is taking her work on the road to reach more rural communities.

Last month, Heather-Marie Curlew opened her mobile clinic — Dental Hygiene Express Newfoundland — to serve the communities surrounding Grand Falls-Windsor.

"I've got a lot more interest than I thought [I] would at first, to the point where we're busy enough that I'm looking at hiring other hygienists because we are open seven days a week," Curlew told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.

She said she has already seen how the service is helping people, adding some patients haven't had a routine cleaning in some time.

"If they can't get into their normal dentist, they can see me. And then, if they want to switch back to their other hygienist in the future, that's also not a problem," said Curlew.

"When it's just the van, it's just me and the patient. So it's a little bit more personalized."

Curlew also makes recommendations to her clients about what they should do following the cleaning. She said she leaves it in their hands to decide when to call a dentist to address a problem like cavities or a filling.

Filling a need

Curlew said she grew up in Leading Tickles in Notre Dame Bay, so she understands how hard it can be to get teeth cleaning done amidst other household responsibilities.

"I know first-hand when you have to travel to … a community to get groceries and doctor appointments, dentistry kind of falls on the bottom of the list, especially if you have more than one child," she said.

She also has previous experience working out of a mobile clinic. In 2018, she was working at a dental clinic in Fort McMurray, Alta. and was finding it difficult to balance work with child-care needs.

That's when dental hygienist Brittany Lalonde approached her about working for Dental Hygiene Express, Curlew said, giving her the ability to set her own hours.

From there, Curlew said, she knew immediately that she wanted to open her own mobile clinic in Newfoundland when it was time to move home.

Patients can book appointments through email, text and an online web portal. Curlew then pulls up in her van at a designated spot, such as a home driveway or even at work.

"It's a fully operating dental unit back there. We have a dental chair, we have a TV that has Disney and Netflix and all that good stuff, we have a full unit that works the same thing as a dental office," she said.

There's even plans to set up an operational X-ray machine in the new year.

"I always tell people I'll go about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes outside of Grand Falls-Windsor, but that doesn't limit where I will go," Curlew said. 

"If I get enough interest in certain communities, I will make a trip out there for the day and then try to fill my schedule accordingly."

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