Interfaith Dental Clinic
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615-329-4790
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600 Hill Avenue, Suite 101
Nashville, TN 37210
Organization Details

Programs

Budget
$0.00
Description
Interfaith Dental could not operate without the generosity of volunteer dental professionals & non-clinical volunteers. Volunteer roles include dentists & specialists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and students. In our last fiscal year, clinical volunteers provided more than 7,000 hours of service.
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$0.00
Description
We currently collaborate with the Vanderbilt University Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program to provide basic and complex oral surgery with IV sedation for our patients 5 days per week through both facilities. Oral surgery residents voluntarily perform this service on rotation as part of their training at Interfaith Dental. In this fashion, patients are provided care by oral surgeons with the highest of skill levels, reducing post-op pain, complications, and further infection. We also partner with many other local teaching facilities, including TSU, placing students for training. Interfaith Dental is certified as a training site for a post-graduate Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency. Interfaith Dental currently hosts four dental residents from NYU Langone this year, providing training and experience in comprehensive clinical care and management of the medically compromised patient.
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$0.00
Description
Through Interfaith Dental's educational programming, we seek to increase the clinics' impact on reducing oral disease. Trainees develop their skills while providing quality care to those in our community who are least able to afford it. With extra focus on cultural competency and whole-person, patient-centered care, dental professionals trained at Interfaith will be able to excel in meeting the oral health challenges of our times. We invite you to learn more about the Residency Program partnerships at https://interfaithdental.com/residencies/, and additional CE course opportunities at https://interfaithdental.com/courses/
Category
Health Care  - Dental Health Care 
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
None
Budget
$4,931,083.00
Description
Clients are cared for in four different ways (or "clinics") :
Emergency and Medical Clearance Clinic - Individuals are relieved from pain, swelling, infection through treatment, often preventing a costly emergency room visit or a serious hospital admission, are educated on their disease process, given a home health kit and instruction and are encouraged to apply for the Transformation Clinic.

Transformation Clinic- Individuals create a treatment plan to eliminate their dental disease, restore their mouth to function and esthetic wholeness and learn the necessary skills for lifetime oral health maintenance.

Wellness Clinic - Individuals graduating from the Transformation Clinic will be offered access for ongoing disease risk management for as long as they need us.


Well Baby Clinic- Low income pregnant women and their babies are given access to dental care treatment & health information, preventing the vertical transmission of dental disease from parent to newborn.
Beneficiaries
General Public
Seniors
Economically disadvantaged people
Long-term Success
In FY21-22 alone 3,366 patients were relieved from pain, suffering and preventable disease with more than 12,610 clinic visits. Clinician volunteers provided 7,000 hours of service helping the agency in providing more than $8M total market value of care.
Program Areas Served
None

CEO/Executive Director/Board Comments

Interfaith is unique in that we dedicate the time and resources to provide individualized, patient centered care at every appointment. At each encounter, our patients receive oral health education, oral hygiene training and instruction and motivation for self-improvement from qualified providers. It is our belief that to eliminate patients' oral disease and improve their overall health, efforts must be devoted to each of these priorities to achieve sustainable success. If a patient needs additional counseling in any of these areas, we have a dedicated Oral Health Educator available to meet with the for more extensive, individualized consult. There is a severe need for programs like ours that provide fully comprehensive dental care and include IV sedation and dental specialty care. Many clinics serving the poor are left with pulling teeth as the only cost-effective option for them and the patient, leaving holes in mouths and lowering employability and the ability to eat nutritiously. Grossly decayed and missing teeth contribute to the isolation of individuals preventing them from fully realizing their potential and becoming active members in their communities. During the pandemic we were a trusted source for health information-informing about coronavirus prevention and resources. Through treatment provision we are reducing chronic disease risk and exacerbation. We are protecting emergency departments from unnecessary dental related visits, preserving their capacity and preventing unnecessary pain, infection, costs and stress in those in our care. At every encounter we don't just look at and talk about teeth, we screen for COVID-19, diabetes, hypertension, oral cancer, smoking, nutrition and mental health. We then make appropriate referrals and help to shepherd people into the health care system, thus preventing disease, and disease exacerbation.