ADEA receives grant for pilot dental school outreach program

Washington鈥擳he American Dental Education Association has received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create academic-community partnerships that will improve the lives of children who lack access to dental care. Howard University College of Dentistry, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry will participate in the ADEA/WKKF Dental School Outreach Program as pilot institutions.

“The Dental School Outreach Program builds on the momentum of other ADEA/Kellogg Foundation initiatives,” said Dr. Ronald J. Hunt, ADEA president. “These programs are now beginning to yield a new group of individuals and institutions committed to the health needs of children.”

The pilot schools are currently operating as safety-net providers for the poor and underserved, and children in these communities will be reached through the dental schools’ efforts to partner with community resources. The partnerships will link oral health education with the general health and well-being of children by including activities that build self esteem and enhance career aspirations.

The project’s goal is to implement community-based outreach programs that provide dental screening and treatment for vulnerable children. The need is apparent, as more than 51 million school hours and 164 million hours of work are lost each year due to dental-related absences. The Dental School Outreach Program will involve dental students as mentors and role models and an expanded mentoring resource at ExploreHealthCareers.org聽for career information across the health professions.

ADEA will provide program oversight as the centralized program office for the 18-month period of the grant. The pilot activities will eventually become integrated into the curriculum objectives related to cultural competency of the three schools. To increase the sustainability of the project, an additional goal of the Dental School Outreach Program is to use the models to impact the capacity of other U.S. dental schools to create outreach activities that improve the health and well-being of children.