LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN THE DENTAL INDUSTRY

Author: Ethan Tataje

People describe America as a melting pot or a tossed salad to express the variety and blending of different cultures in the same spaces. Diversity brings with it new opportunities to meet people who live very differently than what you might be used to, try new foods and flavor combinations that can expand your palate, and even see life from a different perspective than before. This is a blessing and something everyone can benefit from. 

LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY

With a diverse population comes different needs that need to be met and accommodations that must be made to give everyone as equal access to necessities and amenities as possible. One of the biggest ways to promote accessibility is simply through communication. Unfortunately, not as many people as you would think are bilingual in the U.S. Roughly 20.6% of Americans are bilingual/multilingual, funny enough, the midwest region of the U.S. also makes up around 20.6% of the country’s population. Essentially, a fraction of a fraction of the population in the area is multilingual. This can make it difficult for people whose primary language isn’t English to find places that they can rely on for easy communication and access to different facilities. Here in Dane county, we are lucky to have Mercy Dental Group as an example of accessible healthcare for people of different cultures and backgrounds. With a total of nine dental offices, Mercy has made it’s services accessible to Spanish speaking patients in three of it’s office locations through their bilingual staff.

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

There are a number of things we as a community can do and as individuals to promote a more accessible and close-knit environment. The biggest and most obvious thing people can do is simply learn a second language that is commonly spoken in their area. Many public schools offer language classes but sometimes it takes more effort to really learn to use the language in real life. Knowing a second language wouldn’t just benefit others who struggle with English, it can benefit the person learning the second language. People who are bilingual/multilingual are more likely to get hired for a job over someone who only speaks one language and are said to be able to express themselves and creative ideas better. This can also help expand one’s horizons by allowing them to see and communicate with the world in a more personal and in-depth way. For example: let’s say you travel to a country where the official language (or most common language) isn’t English, if you only knew English then you would have a hard time getting around and you wouldn’t be able to make very deep, personal connections with locals. However, if you could speak the language of the place you’re visiting, the experience would not only be easier, but it would also be more engaging. So, there aren’t any downsides to learning a second language.