Dental School Patients with Limited English Proficiency: The California Experience

California is home to one-third of the U.S. population with limited English proficiency (LEP). Studies indicate that treating LEP patients without professional interpreters can result in miscommunication, decreased patient satisfaction, and serious medical errors. To address this problem, federal laws require all health care institutions receiving federal monies to provide interpretation services to their LEP patients at no cost to the patient, In this study we surveyed 122 students and fifty-six faculty members from the five California dental schools with respect to number, communication strategies, impact on education and clinic finances, and student and faculty perceptions regarding serving LEP patients in their clinics. Over 50 percent of students surveyed spoke a foreign language either fluently or moderately fluently. Students reported that about 10 percent of their patients required interpreters, that untrained interpreters (e.g., family, friends, bilingual students) worked adequately, but that LEP patients were more difficult to treat. To comply with federal laws, dental schools are confronted with the challenge of covering the cost of providing language services to LEP patients.