🦷 Expanding Access at Sea: How I Brought Dental Care Onboard

When we talk about health at sea, dental care is often overlooked. But for crew members spending months at a time onboard, access to quality dental care isn't a luxury. It's a necessity.

During my time as Medical Director at one of the world’s leading cruise lines, I spearheaded the initiative to integrate dental services into shipboard medical care. This wasn’t just about setting up a chair and hiring a dentist. It meant designing compact and highly functional dental suites that could effectively operate in the unique and often challenging environment of a moving ship. These suites had to be not only space-efficient but also equipped with the latest technology to ensure high-quality dental care.

Furthermore, I undertook the critical task of sourcing advanced dental equipment that complied with stringent maritime safety and sterilization standards, ensuring that all tools and instruments used onboard were capable of withstanding the rigors of a marine environment while maintaining the highest levels of hygiene and safety for our passengers and crew.

In addition to the physical setup, I also focused on developing comprehensive clinical protocols that aligned with both onboard operations and international regulations. This was essential to ensure that the dental services provided were not only effective but also compliant with the legal and ethical standards governing healthcare practices at sea.

I worked closely with dental professionals, maritime health experts, and legal advisors to create a framework that addressed everything from patient intake processes to emergency response procedures, ensuring that our crew was well-prepared to handle a wide range of dental emergencies that could arise during voyages.

The integration of dental services into the medical offerings was a strategic move to enhance the overall health and wellness experience for our guests and crew. By providing access to dental care while they were at sea, we aimed to alleviate any potential health issues that might arise from untreated dental problems. This initiative not only demonstrated our commitment to the health and well-being of our guests and crew but also positioned our cruise line as a pioneer in providing holistic medical care in the cruise industry.

We started small, with one ship and one clinic, and scaled from there. The result was a fully integrated dental care program that improved guest and crew wellbeing, reduced medical evacuations, and raised the standard of care across the fleet.

Because health at sea includes every smile.