Washington dentists are all too familiar with the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic: navigating temporary office closures, overcoming personal protective equipment shortages, implementing enhanced safety protocols, reassuring cautious patients, and managing staffing issues. 

One less visible — but every bit as serious — consequence has been COVID’s impact on Medical Teams International. For the last 35 years, this well-respected volunteer organization has provided free dental care to underserved populations in Washington, Oregon, and around the globe. 

Now, the organization finds itself unable to keep up with the need for its services, according to Caitlin Carlton, program support officer for its “Care & Connect” program. 

“We’re experiencing both an increase in demand for care and a reduction in the number of available volunteers,” Carlton said. 

Medical Teams is committed to serving the most vulnerable members of the community: communities of color, immigrant and refugee populations, migrant workers, those experiencing homelessness, and uninsured or underinsured residents. Patient ranks have been swollen by COVID limiting access to care and recent events like an influx of Afghan refugees to the state. 

At the same time, the number of available volunteers has shrunk as many dentists have been forced to focus almost exclusively on their own practices. Additionally, some older or recently retired practitioners, who make up a significant portion of Medical Teams’ volunteer base, have scaled back their involvement due to virus exposure concerns. 

Taken together, the surge in demand and the reduction in volunteer workforce means that Medical Teams expects that this year it will serve less than half the patients it did in 2019, the last full year before COVID. 

Medical Teams staff and volunteers must be vaccinated in order to work in its clinics, a requirement imposed by its funders. The program doesn’t require patients to be vaccinated, because it doesn’t want to impose additional barriers to care on its clients. Instead, it focuses on ensuring that patients and practitioners alike adhere to the strictest safety and PPE protocols to provide a safe environment for everyone. 

The program also has begun offering hybrid services, where patients can receive both dental care and vaccination information. Especially important in areas with low vaccination rates, the hybrid model leverages the credibility that volunteer dentists have with their patients to provide accurate information and hopefully increase vaccination rates. 

“We have such amazing volunteers,” Carlton said. “They’re so committed and excited about doing this work to give back to the community. Many of them volunteer year after year or multiple days a year.” 

The problem right now is that there just aren’t enough of them. Carlton says that the most pressing need is for general dentists, but the program is grateful when specialists volunteer, too. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities for dental hygienists and dental assistants, as well. 

“We do a lot of urgent care to help relieve dental pain,” Carlton explained. “So a lot of the care we provide comes down to fillings and extractions. Many of the people we serve also are in desperate need of basic dental hygiene care.” Small dental offices can volunteer as a group for a team-building exercise, she added. 

Medical Teams operates “Care and Connect” vans that travel the state to homeless shelters, public health clinics, community centers, farms, schools — anywhere where its vulnerable patients might be found. The program can run up to four vans throughout Washington, with each van composed of two operatories and able to serve an average of 10 patients per day. 

While Medical Teams patients can be found statewide, in some areas the need is more acute, according to Carlton. 

“We always need dentists in Western Washington, the Seattle and Tacoma Metro areas,” she said. “But some of our biggest needs are in the North Sound region up to Whatcom County, as well as in Yakima, Tri-Cities, and other parts of Eastern Washington.” 

Wherever they are serving patients, Medical Teams’ goal is not only to provide the immediate care its patients need, but also to help them get connected with local resources for long-term care. 

“Because we serve as a bridge to ongoing care, the impact of your volunteer work goes on long after you serve,” Carlton said.