This Dental Health Week, we speak to our Senior Dentist Lynlee Tatnell about her life on the road offering oral healthcare services to rural and remote communities.
For Lynlee, touring Queensland with the RFDS dental team is an experience like no other. Each day fills her with a sense of adventure, working in a new location each rotation from the RFDS Mobile Dental Unit (MDU), a semi-trailer that is a fully-equipped and purpose-built dental surgery. Here’s what a day looks like for Lynlee.
7:30am
The dental team meets at the (MDU), which is usually parked in a small regional, rural or remote community for a one to two-week rotation. We open the dental surgery and turn on all of our machines and prepare for our patients to arrive.
7:45am
Every morning, we have a team meeting to discuss what the expectations are for the day. This gives us time to review our patient’s dental history and prepare any additional equipment or medication that may be required. This might include our wheelchair access, antibiotics or extra documentation needed.
8:00am
This is when our first patients arrive. The team serves more than 70 patients per week, offering a range of services, including oral health check-ups, X-rays, extractions, treatment for acute or pre-existing conditions, treatment for gum disease, and referrals to specialist dental services. Patients can range from 12 months old to seniors.
For many families living in regional, rural or remote communities, the RFDS Dental Service is their only access to oral healthcare in town. Many would otherwise have to travel hundreds of kilometres to see a dentist.
5:30pm
After farewelling our last patient for the day, we sterilise all of the equipment and prepare the surgery for the next day.
6:00pm
We often go into town for a team dinner at the end of the week to mingle and meet locals from the community. Many of which are very grateful for the Service.
As a second-generation dentist and a local from Rockhampton, Lynlee said being a dentist for the Flying Doctor is an extremely rewarding career.
“I was in Collinsville last year and a mum brought her kids in to see us, and she was extremely grateful for the Service as our RFDS aeromedical team had saved her little boy’s life,” Lynlee said.
“He wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the RFDS, and now I get to continue his care holistically.”
During Dental Health Week, the team aims to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of helping children reach their oral health milestones.
“We believe it’s good to start lifelong habits - because you have your teeth forever,” Lynlee said.
“Even if they are baby teeth, teeth are a huge part of our overall health and wellbeing.”
The Flying Doctor acknowledges the support of QCoal Group, QCoal Foundation and the Australian Government in establishing the RFDS Dental Service in 2013.
