Promoting equitable, culturally appropriate and affordable
oral health care for everyone living in the United States.
Our vision is that the American health care system will one day provide equitable opportunity for all persons to attain optimal medical, oral, mental, vision and hearing health status.
Our mission is to support and promote evidence-informed policy and practices that will eliminate inequities in oral health.
Examples of such policies and practices include:
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Community water fluoridation
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The use of dental sealants and silver diamine fluoride
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The inclusion of fully funded comprehensive oral health benefits in Medicare and Medicaid
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The addition of dental therapists to the oral healthcare provider team
The National Coalition of Dentists for Health Equity (NCDHE) is a group of dentists and other like-minded individuals with extensive experience in oral health policy, dental public health, oral health research, and
dental education who are relentlessly working for universal oral health care.
We believe every resident of the United States has a right to equitable culturally appropriate oral health care.
Improving Oral Health Equity by Improving the Dental Workforce Webinar Series
In collaboration with Penn Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the National Coalition Of Dentists for Health Equity developed this webinar series to provide participants with the most accurate information on Dental Therapists. As was the case in adding Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to the medical health workforce, adding Dental Therapists to the oral health provider team has initially been met with resistance. However, research studies on the Minnesota experience with dental therapists have fully documented their effectiveness in enhancing the productivity of clinics and private practices and increasing access to care for low income families and other underserved populations. The time is now right for adding dental therapists to dental clinics and private practices across the US.
Through a series of four 90 minute webinars, NCDHE hosted a group of speakers who are knowledgeable and experienced researchers, practitioners and program administrators. They shared findings regarding the education, supervision and quality of patient care provided by dental therapists. They also delineated financial information that dental practices need to use to determine whether dental therapists would be an asset to their clinical operations.
The webinar series is designed so that each webinar in the sequence builds on the previous webinar to provide participants with an in-depth knowledge of the subject.
INSTRUCTIONS ON ACCESSING THE WEBINARS
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Click on REGISTER below, which takes you to the UPenn Dental Education Portal.
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Use the pale blue “SIGN UP” button on the top far right of the UPenn CDE webpage to create your no-cost account and register to view the webinars.
Webinar #1
Oral Healthcare Inequities in the USA
The first webinar reviewed the published evidence that describes “the oral healthcare underserved”, explaining who comprises this population and why their access to care is limited or nonexistent. Speakers then described the measures that have been implemented to address the needs of disadvantaged patients in the past, which of these measures have been effective or ineffective and the reasons why.
Webinar #2
Current Workforce Models – Dental Therapist, Community Health Workers (Promotoras), Community Dental Health Coordinator, Integration of Dental & Medical Care
The second webinar explored evidence on non-traditional oral health care providers and the various emerging workforce practitioners including Dental Therapists, Community Dental Health Workers (Promotoras), and Community Dental Health Coordinators. Speakers also delved into the ways that dental and medical care is being integrated to provide the best possible overall health outcome for the patient.
Webinar #3
Dental Therapists: Quality, Education, Supervision, Economic Impact
The third webinar explored the day-to-day experiences of dental therapists in a number of practice settings. Participants heard about the value added by the DTs in their contributions to their clinic environments. Dental therapists discussed the strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities that they experience as they expand oral health services and increase access to dental care in underserved communities.
Webinar #4
Dentist and Administrator Perspectives: The Value Proposition - Quality, Education, Supervision, Economic Impact
The final webinar explored the “value proposition” offered by dental therapists in three types of practice settings: private, tribal clinic settings, and DSO or similar large scale practice models. The focus was on the expansion of services, community acceptance, practice growth, dentists personally providing more of one type of service and less of another because dental therapists are present, and other categories of practice and personal value achieved with the integration of dental therapist into practice settings.
Position Statements
