Healthy smiles come to Alberta’s oilsands
Mobile clinic heads north
I must have seen 30 men from Brazil who had never had their teeth cleaned in their lives DENTAL HYGIENIST PATRICIA CLAYTON
There’s no lack of interest when Patricia Clayton’s mobile dental clinic drives into a work camp in Alberta’s oilsands.
Two hours after she arrives, she is completely booked. “I just pull in (to the parking lot) and plug in and go to work,” Clayton says.
For four days each month, the Edmonton-based dental hygienist provides oral health services for Suncor oil workers.
Some of them might be two hours removed from civilization down an unpaved road, but Suncor’s employees demonstrate a keen interest in having clean teeth and healthy gums.
“To not have your teeth cleaned and to have gum infection is not good,” Clayton says. “It’s not good for the longevity of their careers.”
Since 2008, Clayton has spent two days a month at Suncor’s Firebag camp and two days at its Borealis/Millenium camp, both north of Fort McMurray.
When she started, the company built Clayton a room to her specifications to hold her mobile equipment. In 2011, she purchased a mobile clinic from California that includes a dental chair, sterilizer and X-ray capabilities.
Clayton works 12-hour shifts at the camp providing basic dental hygiene, emergency services such as temporary fillings, esthetic services such as whitening and a referral service to dentists in Edmonton.
“It’s probably one of the only places in Canada where smoking hasn’t decreased that much, so whitening is probably one of my most-requested services. Everybody wants white teeth and it’s no different there,” Clayton says.
Some of the workers who sit in Clayton’s chair haven’t been to a dentist in more than 20 years. When she first began visiting the site, there were many foreign workers booking appointments.
“I must have seen 30 men from Brazil who had never had their teeth cleaned in their lives,” she says.
“There was a lot of gum infection, a lot of buildup and tartar. Communicating with them was difficult. They had translators who gave them instructions after I had seen them.”
The convenience of the health service is a particular draw for Clayton’s clients. Workers can complete their shift, clean up and head to her van on a schedule built around their work hours.
“There aren’t a lot of offices that are open and doing cleanings at eight o’clock at night,” Clayton says.
“My busiest time is between 4 p.m. and midnight, when everybody is off shift. My midnight (openings) — if anyone wants to stay up late — are booked solid.”