Portable Dental Chairs and Their Role in Assisting the Community Outreach Program- a Qualitative Approach

Objective: Certain conditions limit the independence of deprived people. Howev- er, those conditions do not limit the right of these people to receive dental care. Portable dental units may make it possible for the deprived and elderly to receive the care they deserve in more areas. This study aimed to explore dentists’ percep- tions of the use of portable dental units in community outreach programs as a pre- cursor to our quantitative study in the future. Materials and Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted by one interviewer, seven dentists, two specialists, and 11 final-year dental stu- dents who had experience with portable dental units in Isfahan, Iran. The qualita- tive research method was chosen first due to the rarity of information readily available about the units and second due to their specialist application; with which only certain members of the dental community have experience. Results: Participants described a range of observations they had made whilst us- ing the portable dental units in different locations. The qualitative data were pri- marily concerned with the range of ideas the interviewers distinguished as rele- vant when describing the portable dental units. The predominant view most noted within interviews was that the portable units are very useful for the community Corresponding author: F. Nilchian, Department of Dental Public Health (Shef- field, Uk), Medical university of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran f_nilchian@dnt.mui.ac.ir Received: 26 February 2013 Accepted: 10April 2013 outreach programs, with two subcategories of serviceability and access to oral health. Other factors mentioned were the competence of the portable dental unit and the factors affecting each individual patient. Conclusion: Our findings illustrate a number of features that may enhance the reputation of portable dental units, due to their useful nature.