At four El Paso dental practices, 111 of 281 patients tested were classified as at risk for diabetes. The screenings came during the latest phase of Texas Tech Health El Paso's community programme. All 71 patients whose results indicated prediabetes or diabetes were referred to a primary care provider that same day.
The programme's new two-year grant is worth $124,933 and is intended to expand the network from two participating private dental offices to four.
Since its relaunch in February, the initiative has joined 19 outreach events at the Oral Health Clinic. Texas Tech said the events reached more than 600 community members. They also led to 150 one-to-one diabetes consultations and education sessions.
That is a wider health role.
Promotores turn screening into follow-up care
Maria Land and Laura Renovato are community health workers known in Spanish as promotores de salud. Through Texas Tech Health El Paso's Community Health and Outreach Education Program, they help patients after screening. Their work includes health education and help finding the right medical care.
The next phase of funding is designed to preserve partnerships with two private dental offices and add two more, extending the programme's reach beyond its current practices.
Cost, transportation and time can keep patients away from primary care. Land and Renovato help close that gap after a dental screening. The access problem also echoes an earlier access report on dental care shortages in south-west England. The El Paso programme focuses on the handoff from dental screening to medical follow-up.
A practical response to a regional health gap
Texas Tech said diabetes and gum disease can worsen one another. Gum disease can make blood sugar harder to control. Uncontrolled diabetes can also speed the spread of gum disease.
Adult diabetes prevalence in the Borderplex region is 14%. Some residents see a dentist more regularly than they see other healthcare providers.
"Bringing diabetes screening to the dental chair helps close care gaps," said Salma Elwazeer, B.D.S., M.D.S., M.P.H., an Assistant Professor at the Hunt School of Dental Medicine and co-director of the programme. "This is especially true for families facing barriers related to cost, transportation or time. This project empowers both patients and dental professionals to improve health outcomes across our community."
El Paso dentist Paul Ro, D.D.S., has taken part since the programme launched. He is also a clinical instructor for the Hunt School of Dental Medicine. "These screenings have demonstrated value by facilitating earlier detection and timelier intervention for our patients," Ro said. "This has been highly beneficial to our practice."
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation awarded a new two-year grant worth $124,933. The money will maintain partnerships with two private dental offices and add two more. It will also train additional promotores de salud and support staff training for dental practices, Hunt School of Dental Medicine students and El Paso Community College dental hygiene students.
The programme's institutional announcements appear in Texas Tech's Newswise listings.
The programme aims to screen 300 to 400 new patients over the next two years. Patients seeking an exam and screening at the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic can call (915) 215-6700.
The approach is simple. Use a dental appointment patients already attend to check for a separate but related health risk. Then make a same-day referral instead of handing patients information and sending them away. Texas Tech's results suggest that dental practices can serve as front-line prevention sites when trained navigators work with a clear primary-care pathway.
