Mobile and portable dentistry: alternative treatment services for the elderly.

With the rapidly expanding geriatric population in the United States, the demand for geriatric dentistry is rising. With the financial, transportation, and motivational barriers the geriatric population faces, it can be difficult for them to seek dental treatment in a traditional setting. Mobile and portable dental units can be used as alternative methods to provide dental care to the geriatric population. Mobile and portable dental units offer advantages such as providing community outreach, increasing personal satisfaction for geriatric clients and dental professionals, and providing dental care to those who would otherwise not receive treatment due to some of the barriers. Although mobile and portable dental units are ideal for long-term facilities, disadvantages do exist in implementing the use of these systems. These include the initial cost of implementing such a unit, limitation of treatment options, the number of clients seen in a day, and maintenance for the unit. Until more research can be done to find ways to improve the quality of dental care for the geriatric population, these units seem to be a reasonable alternative to the traditional approach to providing the elderly with the dental care they require.