A Guelph dental hygienist is making a visit to the dentist office a little less stressful and a lot more convenient.
Carolyn Maloney is a registered dental hygienist with 27 years of experience. After thinking about starting her own business for 15 years, she has taken the next steps and launched Big Smiles Mobile Dental Hygiene.
As a mobile operation, she offers in-home teeth cleaning and oral hygiene education for residents in Guelph, Erin, Rockwood, Acton and the surrounding areas.
While her business is a lot of work some days, Maloney says she wakes up every day feeling excited.
“It does take guts to start up a business during a pandemic, because everything is so uncertain, but I feel like this is an opportunity for people to keep up with their dental health and feel safe in their home at the same time." says Maloney.
“I feel like the service is going to be very popular.”
The pandemic has created barriers for some residents to attend dental appointments, especially for those who are housebound or have a mobile disability. Maloney also adds mobile services may also be an appealing alternative for those with young children or for seniors as well.
“Moms with little kids, they can’t control everything they are touching." says Maloney, "So they might feel more comfortable to have their hygiene treatment done at home, and same for seniors who can't really get around as easily. They might find it more convenient."
The way her business works is after setting up an appointment, Maloney emails medical history forms for the client to fill out beforehand, and on the day of, she will assemble her practice in the person’s home. Before each appointment, Maloney will screen patients for COVID symptoms and then set up for the procedure.
“I ask them to set up usually close to the front, so that way I don’t have to pace through their whole house.” she explains.
Besides checking her clients for symptoms, Maloney says she does regular temperature checks on herself each morning to ensure she is healthy. She also converted part of her home into a sterilization room for all her equipment, which is all up to public health standards.
“I don’t leave the house if I have any kind of temperature or any kind of symptom,” she says, “And I’m happy to share that with my patients as well.”
For those needing treatments involving cavities or any other oral conditions, Maloney tells clients to see their dentist for those issues. She also recommends to every client that they see their dentist once a year for a check-up and x-ray.
“If I see cavities, or if I saw a bump or lump inside the mouth that looks suspicious, then I would refer that person to a dentist.” she says.
Since starting the business in August, she says it's been well-received. On an average day, Maloney will see between four to six people.
“I love dealing with people, I love meeting new people, I love educating them," she says, "And bringing to them something that's going to be good for their health, and feel good about themselves for looking after themselves.”
To learn more, email [email protected] or check out their Facebook page.
