Disconnect: An Impact Story
Listening to Patients to Close the Gap in Oral Health Access
This impact story reveals a critical and often overlooked truth: the reasons providers assume patients skip dental care are not the same as the reasons patients give. Drawing on interviews with 97 patients and surveys of 117 clinicians and community liaisons at safety net clinics in greater Richmond, Disconnect reveals that providers frequently blamed patient behavior — lack of motivation, poor health literacy, or low prioritization — while patients described a system that failed to meet them with respect, clear communication, cultural humility, or practical accessibility. Use it to challenge assumptions, ground conversations about access in community voice, and make the case for patient-centered, equity-driven changes in how clinics design and deliver oral health care.