Oral health is an important aspect of systemic health as well as emotional and mental health. Uninsured and low income populations are at particular risk for poor oral health. The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of an oral health class amongst low income and uninsured populations utilizing a free clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah. Oral health classes are offered once a week (several separate sessions each time) at a free clinic from September to November 2017. Each participant fills a pre-class survey that includes oral health history and access to dental care, attends a 20 minute oral health class, and answers a post-class survey about the satisfaction of the class. Field notes were also taken during the class. The classes are offered in English and Spanish. All materials are also available in English and Spanish. Overall, the participants were highly satisfied with the class. They learned new things about home dental care such as how to brush properly and what kinds of tooth paste they should use. Since, at this point, the free clinic does not provide dental treatment, access to dental treatment is very challenging for the patients of the clinic. Low income and uninsured populations need to be better informed of resources for low cost dental treatment. Home dental care classes seem to be effective for such populations to better take care of their teeth and gums, and should be widely available for underserved populations.
