Working

Darla Dale, RDH, RDHAP, BS

Darla Dale, RDH, RDHAP, BS, has dedicated her career to helping the underserved population of Humboldt County, Calif., gain access to oral health care.

After earning her bachelor's degree in 1985 from the University of Southern California, Dale went to work in clinical practice. Since 1996 she has held the position of dental coordinator at the Redwood Coast Regional Center (RCRC), which is where her initial interest in helping the developmentally disabled population gain access to health care began.

As a dental hygienist, Dale can often provide dental care, including oral health assessments, in-home visits and prevention programs, without the supervision of a dentist. In Health Professional Shortage Areas, like Humboldt County, a registered dental hygienist in alternative practice can open up their own practice, which Dale recently did.

Her new business, Smiles to Go, a mobile dental office, targets the population with special needs along with two other often overlooked groups--very young children and the geriatric populace--by going directly to the homes of patients who cannot come to the office.

"Some of these patients just cannot come to a dental office, said Dale, whose husband jokes that she lives out of her car. "I wanted to serve people who didn't have access to care."

Working as the dental coordinator at RCRC, Dale's goal is to help the developmentally disabled population gain access to oral health care services--whether it be hospital dentistry or helping them to find a dentist--in the community.

Over the last nine years, Dale has worked with many different types of patients within the population with special needs, including both adults and children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and autism.

"Nothing fazes me--noises, movements, different things that would freak a dentist out. I just go with the flow," said Dale. "I try to be understanding of their needs; I'm patient and I always have a smile on my face. I am comfortable with them and they feel that."

In addition to her job at the regional center, for the last six years, Dale has also worked as the dental coordinator for the North Coast Clinics Network, a county kids' program that works to help provide low-income children with health care.

As if two jobs were not enough, Dale spends two days a week working in private practice with Sam Kennedy, DDS, who allows Dale to see patients with special needs in the office. On average, Kennedy and Dale spend two full days a month providing care in the hospital setting. "He [Kennedy] doesn't like it, but he does it because I ask him to," said Dale. He knows, "basically either you do it or I'm out of here," said Dale.

By working in a small community, Dale has made many connections and developed the reputation as the go-to person for questions regarding dental hygiene for patients with special needs or who are homebound.

"I get calls from doctors, public health nurses, child welfare services, adult protection services. Community agencies know my name, and know to call me to find care," said Dale.

"Working in health care, working with people and the independence of being a hygienist are the main things that attracted me to the career," said Dale, who is in the process of applying to Idaho State University. She is planning to enroll in the distance learning program--because leaving her community is not an option--to pursue her master's degree in dental hygiene.

Dale has been a member of the American Dental Hygienists' Association and the California Dental Hygienists' Association since 1985. She is also active in a number of other organizations and committees including the Statewide Task Force for Persons with Special Needs, Oral Health Access Council, Committee on Dental Auxiliaries and Children's Dental Health Task Force.

Although Dale's workdays can be long and exhausting, she finds the work she does and the progress she has made extremely rewarding.

Dale recently received a note from the daughter of a 92-year-old blind, deaf man whose teeth she had recently cleaned during a home visit. 'You made my father so happy,' wrote the daughter.

"It was really neat; it gave me chills because you don't think that something as simple as that would mean the difference to a 92-year-old living in a rest home," said Dale.

This edition of Working was prepared by Katie Barge