The experiences of people living with environmental sensitivities concerning oral health and access to dental services

Abstract

Purpose

Because people living with environmental sensitivities are poorly acknowledged in our society, we still know very little about their experiences navigating in the health care system, especially with respect to dental services. Our objective, therefore, was to describe their dental care pathway and better understand their experiences accessing oral health services.

Materials and methods

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in partnership with organizations supporting people with environmental sensitivities. Through a criterion sampling technique, 12 people living with environmental sensitivities in Quebec (Canada) were invited to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. These interviews lasted around 90 min and were transcribed to be thematically analysed.

Results

Participants faced major barriers accessing dental services and thus lived for long periods of time with unmet dental needs. Their dental care pathways were often delayed or even interrupted for several reasons. First because they were exposed to pollutants upon leaving their house, which rendered their trip to the dentist perilous. Second because dentists lacked knowledge about environmental sensitivities and seemed reluctant to accommodate them.

Conclusions

We invite governments, dental professionals, and researchers to develop policies and clinical approaches for improving people living with environmental sensitivities’ quality of life and access to dental services.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Although environmental sensitivities are recognized as disability in several countries such as Sweden and Germany, people with these conditions face major barriers to access healthcare services.

• Dental professionals, for instance, are reluctant to acknowledge environmental sensitivities as a disability and seldom accommodate sufferers’ special needs.

• We invite dentists to foster holistic and person-centered approaches and be receptive to the health conditions and needs of people with environmental sensitivities.

• Dentists could address oral health needs of people with environmental sensitivities by doing home-visits with portable dental equipment as this removes barriers related to their exposure to pollutants.

Keywords:

• Access to care
• oral healthcare
• environmental sensitivities
• multiple chemical sensitivities
• electromagnetic hypersensitivities
• patient-centered care

Acknowledgments

The authors express our gratitude towards Ms. Jacinthe Ouellet (the Fondation Air et Vie organization’s representative), Ms. Hélène Vadeboncoeur (the RESQ organization’ representative), and the ASEQ organization’s representatives; conducting this study was impossible without their valuable insights on environmental sensitivities and their support for recruiting participants. The authors received no financial support with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

The authors certify that they have NO affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter discussed in this manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to ethical considerations and aligned with the instructions of McGill University Faculty of medicine’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). However, multiple anonymized parts of the data have been added to the manuscript (see quotations in the findings section).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.