Dental Cupid Works to Ensure Access to Urgent Dental Care During COVID Crisis
10,000 Dentists Recruited to Provide Care
BOSTON-- Most dental offices are now closed due to COVID-19; some dentists can't practice due to their risk profiles, and some also lack personal protective equipment -- yet serious dental afflictions still can and do happen. An oral infection could become life-threatening.
A new online platform, called Dental Cupid, is designed to help surmount COVID's challenges and ensure that people can still obtain urgent dental care in their communities during this daunting time.
The Dental Cupid platform essentially serves as a matchmaker and connects people who need dental care with dental practices still open in their local areas. Dental Cupid, created just four weeks ago, has already provided dental connections for over 5,000 individuals. Astonishingly, over 10,000 dental providers nationwide have answered Dental Cupid's call to action. The platform has also expanded overseas to seven additional countries.
How the Dental Cupid Platform Works
Dental Cupid asks for a user's location, and a list of dentists handling emergencies in that location is then displayed. As lack of transportation can be an obstacle to care, dentists are displayed in relation to distance. Insurance information, including Medicaid, will also be shown, so the user knows what insurance plans are accepted – and some practices are taking all patients, including those lacking insurance.
Days of operations for each dentist are also displayed in a large font. The Dental Cupid user can then immediately choose which dentist to contact by phone or via web. All this is offered without cost to the dentist or the patient.
"We can basically play matchmaker with people to find a practice that is open in their community and who will see patients with their particular type of insurance," says Dr. Chris Baugh, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs at The Brigham and Women's Hospital. "And some of these practices are taking all patients, including those without any insurance. And we feel like we're making a reliable connection."
How Dental Cupid Was Born
On April 4, Dr. Abe Abdul had reached out to a local Boston hospital (Brigham and Women's), knowing hospitals make poor "Dental Homes." Dr. Abdul asked, "How may the dental profession help?" Most hospitals do not have dentists on staff. The emergency department needed an updated referral list of dentists to provide for a continuum of care.
Due to the risk of transmissions, paper documents were not welcome. Together with two software engineers, they got to work. Three days and three nights later, the team completed a digital directory. In creating the "free" platform, Dr. Abdul described it as a "gift of dentistry to all." The Dental Cupid platform had been born.
Growing Adoption After Initial Skepticism
Finding lists of dentists for the Dental Cupid platform proved more difficult than expected. Online searches resulted in outdated opening information. Desperate, the "Dental Cupids" decided to approach trustworthy social media communities for help. Despite some initial skepticism, the dental community has since rapidly embraced the platform. By publishing numbers of successful contacts made with patients, more professionals inquired and joined the movement. Pacific Dental, 42 NORTH, Aspen Dental and other large group practices were early adopters of the system.
Social media has also been equally effective in promoting the platform directly to front-line providers.
Harvard's President Applauds Dental Cupid
Dental Cupid has been "applauded" by Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow for its success. Having made more than 5,000 connections across the nation, the platform has proven its utility in this tumultuous healthcare crisis.