Date: February 9, 2010
For Release: Immediately
For more information: Pamela J. Tolson, CAE, Executive Director,
American Association of Public Health Dentistry, Phone: (217)529-6941
American Association of Public Health Dentistry Convenes Panel to Address Two-Year Dental Therapist Training and Curriculum
Springfield, Illinois – The American Association of Public Health Dentistry has announced the members of a panel that will be addressing the training and curriculum for a mid-level dental provider model that is relatively new to the US, although used extensively in other countries to provide dental care to underserved populations in remote areas. The panel held its first meeting in Dallas, Texas, on January 22, 2010.
Within the next twelve months, the panel will establish guidelines for the model curriculum that could be adapted by university dental schools, community colleges or other institutions of higher learning in states licensing mid-level dental providers. Under the direction of Dr. Caswell Evans, Jr., the panel began their work when they met for the first time last month. Convener for the panel is Dr. Caswell Evans, Jr. Dr. Evans also serves as the Chairman of the Kellogg Foundation’s National Advisory Committee for the evaluation of Alaska’s dental therapist program.
In addition to Dr. Evans, who is Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Science at the University of Illinois-Chicago, panel members are: Michael Alfano, DDS, Executive Vice President, New York University; David Chambers, EdM, MBA, PhD, Professor of Administration, University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California; Dominick DePaola, DDS, PhD, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Nova Southeastern University, College of Dental Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Jay A. Gershen, DDS, PhD, President, Northeastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine & Pharmacy, Rootstown, Ohio; Ira Lamster, DDS, MMSc, Dean, Columbia University, College of Dental Medicine, New York, New York; Frank Licari, DDS, MPH, MBA, Assoc. Dean for Academic Affairs, Midwestern University College of Dentistry, Downers Grove, Illinois; Ana Karina Mascarenhas, BDS, DrPH, Director, Division of Dental Public Health, Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Victor Sandoval, DDS, MPH, Chair of Professional Studies, University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine, Las Vegas, Nevada; Eugene Sekiguchi, DDS, Professor of Clinical Dentistry, University of Southern California, Norman Tinanoff, DDS, MS, Professor and Chair, The University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; Karen Yoder, PhD, Director, Division of Community Dentistry, Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis, Indiana. The panel will be staffed by Dorene Gillman Campbell, PhD and Pamela Tolson, CAE, of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry. Serving as consultant to the panel from the Kellogg Foundation is Allan J. Formicola, D.D.S., M.S., Professor of Dentistry, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.
According to Dr. Evans, “We as a panel are committed to developing a curriculum model that can be used to train mid-level dental providers in the US. It is our hope that students trained with such a model will be able to work under the supervision of dentists. This is a way to address oral health care needs that often go untreated due to lack of access, lack of insurance, and a shortage of practitioners. I am certain I speak for the group when I say that we all honored to have been chosen for this panel, and look forward to collaborating to craft an ideal model curriculum.”
The project is funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.
AAPHD is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the vision of optimal oral health for all. Its members are dentists, dental hygienists, and other individuals committed to improving the oral health of the public. Founded in 1937, the AAPHD provides a focus for meeting the challenge to improve oral health. Public health dentistry is one of the nine Dental Specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, established in 1930, supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation is a privately endowed philanthropy located in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. The Foundation supports programs designed to improve the education of health professionals in the interest of the health of the public.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY
P.O. Box 11075 v Springfield, IL 62791-1075
Phone: (217) 529-6941 Fax: (217) 529-9120 E-mail: natoff@aaphd.org
