The Dental-Mental Connection: A Clinic in Oakland's Chinatown Brings Mental Health Care to Dental Patients


Dental offices like Asian Health Services are starting to incorporate mental health care in their dental services. By observing changes in oral health, building trust with patients to talk about their mental health and having them fill out questionnaires about how they’ve been feeling, dentists are able to identify patients that may be struggling and then help connect them with therapy and treatment. Asian Health Services screens 300 to 400 patients per year, about 7% of which are then referred to counseling.

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