Mental Health Challenges Don’t Have to Stop Oral Health Care

In our Care Linkages Strategy, Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH) has teamed up with Smile Spokane to make it easy for clients to get the dental care they need. Although FBH’s primary focus is on mental health and emotional issues, the organization’s care navigators regularly assist patients in securing dental appointments.

“We can help with paperwork for the dental offices, we’ll set up the appointment, and offer our services up to the end,” explains Care Navigation Supervisor Jai Linn Strong. “That can even mean going to their appointment with them.”

FBH has noticed some people are hesitant to visit the dentist. They may want to avoid certain dental procedures. Or dental care may not be a high priority because they face significant emotional and mental challenges in their day-to-day life. 

“The people I see are struggling already,” says Care Navigator Aaron Cates. “Dental health is just as important as medical or physical health. I try and break down every barrier I can and make it as simple as I can for the client. I tell them, ‘All you have to do is show up to the appointment, and I’ll do the rest for you.’”

That human connection is what makes Cates so passionate about his job. He gets people going in the right direction with their oral health, and he sees the real impact in his clients’ lives.

“I’ve had clients who, after having dental services, come back into my office just to show me their new smile,” Cates says. “To watch someone smile again, unabated, is worth just about everything that we do.”

Learn more at SmileSpokane.org.