June 12, 2025
Celebrating the Power of Partnership with Delta Dental of New Mexico
June is Oral Health Awareness Month, a time to recognize the essential role oral health plays in our overall well-being. At Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH), we know that dental care isn’t just about smiles—it’s about dignity, confidence, nourishment, and life-saving preventive care. And yet, for many people experiencing homelessness, dental care is still treated as a luxury, rather than a necessity.
This month, we’re proud to shine a light on the importance of oral health—and to celebrate a powerful partnership that’s helping change the narrative: Delta Dental of New Mexico. With their support, AHCH is able to provide high-quality, compassionate dental care to some of the most marginalized members of our community. In the past year alone, our dental team served nearly a thousand individuals, addressing everything from painful tooth decay to full denture fittings that quite literally change lives.
Delta Dental’s investment in our work shows a deep commitment to health care access. They understand what public health experts have long known: poor oral health can lead to serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes complications, and systemic infection. When our clients receive dental care, they’re not just regaining a smile—they’re restoring their health, reclaiming their confidence, and often taking the first step toward exiting homelessness and regaining stability.
Oral Health: The Gateway to Overall Health
Oral health is not just about having a bright smile—it’s a window to the body’s overall health. The mouth is the gateway to the respiratory and digestive tracts, making it a critical point of defense against infection. But when oral health is neglected, it can become a source of pain, illness, and life-threatening conditions.
-Bacterial Infections and Systemic Health: The mouth is home to millions of bacteria—most of them harmless. But poor oral hygiene can lead to the buildup of harmful bacteria, causing gum disease (periodontitis) and tooth decay. When left untreated, these conditions allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream, leading to systemic infections and even life-threatening conditions like endocarditis (heart infection).
-Links to Chronic Diseases: Poor oral health has been directly linked to serious chronic conditions
-Heart Disease: Gum disease is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, as bacteria from infected gums can enter the bloodstream and contribute to arterial inflammation.
-Diabetes: Poor dental health can worsen blood sugar control in people with diabetes, and diabetes, in turn, increases the risk of gum disease—creating a dangerous cycle.
-Respiratory Infections: Inhaling harmful bacteria from infected teeth or gums can lead to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases.
-Pregnancy Complications: Gum disease has been linked to premature birth and low birth weight, making maternal oral health critical for healthy pregnancies.
-Nutrition and Digestion: Oral health directly impacts nutrition. When people cannot chew properly due to missing or decayed teeth, they are forced to eat softer, often less nutritious foods. This is especially damaging for people experiencing homelessness, whose access to nutritious food is already limited.
Oral Health Challenges for People Experiencing Homelessness
For people without stable housing, the challenges of maintaining oral health are overwhelming:
-Limited Access: Transportation, cost, and stigma make it difficult to access dental care.
-Loss of Personal Belongings: For those staying in shelters or encampments, dental hygiene products are often lost or discarded during sweeps.
-Pain and Infections: Untreated tooth decay and gum disease cause chronic pain, making it hard to eat, sleep, or focus on daily survival, can also result in self-medicating behaviors to alleviate pain and seek relief
-Mental Health and Self-Esteem: Missing teeth or severe dental problems can lead to shame and isolation, reducing a person’s confidence in seeking employment, housing, or even social support.
Expanding Access Through Innovation
AHCH’s dental program offers comprehensive services—from exams and fillings to root canals and full and partial dentures. But for individuals who can’t access traditional clinics, we bring care to them. During AHCH’s outreach survey, dental care was one of the most highly requested services and clients reported that it was an unmet need in the community. AHCH’s Health Outreach Vehicle, outfitted with a full dental suite, allows us to reach people in encampments, shelters, and wherever people experiencing homelessness congregate.
And now, with the addition of a one-hour denture machine, we can provide prosthetics on the spot—an essential service for clients whose dentures are lost during sweeps or displacement. Delta Dental’s support plays a key role in expanding this kind of agile, person-centered care that meets people where they are.
Stories of Impact: Smiles Restored, Lives Changed
One of our patients—let’s call him Jason—had been living on the street for months, avoiding public spaces because of the condition of his teeth. After a series of extractions and being fitted with dentures at AHCH, Jason not only regained his ability to eat and speak comfortably—he was excited to begin the job hunt and felt hopeful for the future. “I feel like I can finally look people in the eye without them judging me or feeling embarrassed,” he said.
Delta Dental’s support helps make these transformations possible, especially through our mobile dental outreach efforts.
Beyond the Clinic: A Commitment to Person-Centered Care
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, AHCH is one of the few places in Bernalillo County where people experiencing homelessness can access comprehensive dental services, regardless of ability to pay. Our program is designed not just to treat immediate dental needs, but to connect patients with medical care, mental health support, harm reduction services, housing case management, and more.
Through their generous partnership, Delta Dental helps make this integrated model of care possible, championing the belief that oral health is human health—and everyone deserves it.
Join Us This June and Beyond
During Oral Health Awareness Month, we invite you to consider the role of oral health in your own life—and to stand with those for whom it has too often been out of reach. AHCH and Delta Dental of New Mexico are working together to change that. Because health care is a human right, and a smile should never be a privilege.
