Something to Smile About: Expanding Oral Health Services in Northwest Tribal Communities

In this one-hour webinar, which is part of the Hot Topics series, Christina Peters, Native Dental Therapy Initiative Project Director at Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, explains how dental aides are helping to expand oral health services in tribal communities.

Learning Objectives

• Describe barriers to accessing oral health services in tribal communities.
• Review the role of dental health aid therapists and the economic advantages of adding them to dental teams.
• Review case examples of expanding oral health services in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.

Intended Audiences

Local, state, and tribal public health professionals; Public health nurses and oral health specialists; Primary care providers and community health clinic staff

Presenter

Christina Peters
Native Dental Therapy Initiative Project Director
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

Discussion Questions

1. How can state, tribal, and federal policies be used to expand or deny access to health care?
2. How is your agency using policy approaches to address health disparities?
3. Discuss the role of training in strengthening the public health and health care workforces.

Resources

Publications

• Terrence S. Batliner. “American Indian and Alaska Native Access to Oral Health Care: A Potential Solution." Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 27 (2016): 1-10.
• Phillips, Elizabeth, Anne Gwozdek, and H. Luke Shaefer. “Safety Net Care and Midlevel Dental Practitioners: A Case Study of the Portion of Care That Might Be Performed Under Various Setting and Scope-of-Practice Assumptions.” American Journal of Public Health 105 (2015): 1770–1776.
• Gelmon, S., & Tresidder, A. (2011). Accreditation of emerging oral health professions: Options for dental therapy education programs. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 71 Suppl 2, S20-6
• Alaska Dental Therapist Program: RTI Evaluation Report, W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2010)
• Improving Dental Care Access in Rural America, Pew Charitable Trusts (2015)
• Expanding the Dental Team: Increasing Access to Care in Public Settings, Pew Charitable Trusts (2014)