The National Dental Association is an association that is focused on providing oral health care to minorities and the underserved. They believe that oral health care is a right, not a privilege. It represents more than 7,000 minority dentists nationally and abroad. The National Dental Association is the largest and oldest organization of minority oral health professionals in the world. It’s mission statement is “The National Dental Association promotes oral health equity among people of color by harnessing the collective power of its members, advocating for the needs of and mentoring dental students of color, and raising the profile of the profession in our communities” (About NDA, 2016). The National Dental Association is a professional association based in Washington D.C. that operates in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. A group of minority dental professionals formed the National Dental Association in 1913. For over 100 years, the National Dental Association has been a national forum for minority dentists and a leader in advancing their rights within the dental profession, the armed services, the governments, and the private sector (About NDA, 2016). The goals of the National Dental Association are to improve the delivery of oral health care in underserved communities and improve the educational opportunities of minorities underrepresented in the oral health field. They want to provide members with opportunities for continued education, collaborative
Many low income areas have dental therapists as part of their local dental team. Many people in these areas have never been to a dentist or do not go every six months as recommended this poses many other health problems. There has been case studies and data showing that in these areas dental health
My professional goal is to become more advanced and precise in my work and knowledge by getting a dental degree in the United States. Also, I want to make our society healthy by providing exceptional dental care to all age groups and to various population. I want to concentrate especially on patients with special needs such as mentally and physically disabled, the elderly, medically compromised and the underserved. I also want to contribute for research to treat people better. Moreover, I would like to participate to help future dental students and make them outstanding dental professionals.
The dental hygienist is expected to respect the diverse values, beliefs, and cultures present in individuals and communities. When providing dental hygiene care, dental hygienists must support the right of the individual to have access to the necessary information and provide opportunities for dialogue to allow the individual patient to make informed care decisions without coercion (ADHA Policy Manual, 2016.) It is important for the oral health care provider to focus on the needs of the patient versus their own needs or those of the practice. It is also important that every patient be treated with the upmost respect regardless of race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, social class, disability or oral conditions. The patient must also be respectful towards the provider and dental team and what they are doing to improve the patient’s oral health. This balance allows the patient and provider to both be
In the course of my time volunteering at the UCSD Student-Run Free Dental Clinics, I came to understand how poverty, language barriers, and a lack of knowledge about the importance of dental care can lead to readily preventable and treatable dental problems. These dental problems can lead to a cascade of issues, preventing an individual’s progress. As a clinic volunteer inside the school’s dental clinic, I noticed young students, with poor dental care, have constant pain that affected their studies and attitude. I recall a Hispanic young boy telling me he was sharing a toothbrush with his family. I hand over multiple toothbrushes and, using Spanish cards, educate him on oral hygiene. With each treatment visit, he was eager to tell the dentist
Hundreds of years ago, the dental profession and the medical profession was perceived as two separate entities, however, this bifurcated health system has created an epidemic in oral disease with our aging population (Nagro, 2016). Dentistry should be more closely integrated with medicine and the health care system, however, organized dentistry has fought to stay a monopoly. They have protested regarding dental personnel being independent, even in the advancement of serving more rural areas, just as they repelled being part of Medicare. Finally, there are a few states that have alternative choices for a dental hygienist to travel to people who can’t get to a traditional dental office. Some of these states include Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon,
In Dr. Parson’s presentation, I learned that there are still many seniors with out dental insurance. This is sad because the population by 2030 is going to double and more will eventually need treatment done by a dentist. According to her presentation oral care is not a concern to the nursing home staff. Some families show up to brush their family members teeth. With the limited financial resources for dental care these patients have it is one of their barriers to getting treatment done if needed or even cleaning. Therefore, we as dental hygienist can help make a difference by going out to the community and offering dental care education to the nursing staff because they must first know how to take care of their oral health before taking care
This has a number of perceived benefits such as being able to provide additional public dental care by expanding the public dental labour force significantly3. In particular, this is envisioned to allow for greater access to public dental care in rural areas3. The NHHRC report has suggested that this would also allow for graduate dentists to expand their skill set in an environment where they have more supervision and support before they potentially work independently in the private system1,2. Furthermore, the Department of Health suggests that this also might increase the retention of graduate dentists in the public sector, citing the high retention rate with the Voluntary Dental Graduate Year
Health care has been an issue for the United States of America for multiple years. Dental care, a topic that does not get much attention because people believe it is trivial, plays a major part in people’s lives, particularly children. Gerard van Honthorst’s The Tooth Puller shows a dentist pulling a patient’s tooth with five observers watching. Van Honthorst shows how in awe or scared people are of the dentist. There is a negative outlook on dentists and dental care: people are afraid of the dentist giving them their negative connotation, while dental care only causes pain in many people eyes. There is a problem in the health care system and improvement in the system is needed because health care is a right for every citizen, especially dental care. The United States of America’s government should allow dental therapist to conduct the procedure that normal dentist conduct for free for children under the age of twelve. The government should fund the teaching, training, and employment of dental therapists to care for underserved people.
Research studies have indicated that the elderly Hispanic-American population residing along the Texas-Mexico border has minimal access to healthcare as well as inadequate use of preventive and screening services. The elderly population in El Paso, Texas is speculated to increase by 21.8% between 2014 to 2019 for the age group between 70 to 74 and 11.7% for the age group between 75 to 79. Unfortunately, many oral healthcare professionals are avoiding geriatric certification as a result of the low fees associated with Medicare and Medicaid and the bothersome paperwork that is often affiliated with the elderly, low-income, and minority patient. Based upon the Healthy People 2020 objectives for issues that are applicable to older adults; the objective to be addressed within this review report is the objective of increasing the proportion of dentists with geriatric certification. The specific research question to be addressed is “What are various factors that might be inhibiting dentists from attaining their geriatric certification and what are some strategies to overcome these obstacles and further facilitate this objective?” While the main priority should be to advocate for further health promotion of oral care in the elderly population and increasing the numbers of elderly adults that are able to understand the health benefits of oral care; various factors among the dentistry profession and elderly population must also be addressed. These factors might include ethnic
Also, I will come up with a plan to diverse the dental workplace. First, I will create a brochure in order to convince the dentists why it is important to hire more minority health care providers. My brochure will include the hardships that patients and workers have experienced while trying to get treatment or a job in dentistry. For example, one my friends had a difficult time finding a job as a dental assistant after graduation the dental assistant program because there’s not a lot African-American dental assistant in Arkansas. This brochure will be an eye opener for many dentists making them more aware and understanding to their patients and employees hardships and needs. Also, it will lead them to step out their comfort zone and hire more people outside their race. However, this will make the patients more comfortable to receive dental care because they will see more people that look like them. In addition, having a diverse team in dentistry will have a positive outlook on the
The authors have properly addressed the health disparities in this article. They started the article by telling the audience why Hispanic faces health disparities the most. First, due to the language barrier they have insufficient knowledge of oral health. Most the people who participated in this study were immigrants, Spanish. Only 2/3 of the people spoke and understood little to no English. Second, because of the poverty they have can’t afford dental health and avoid going to see the dentist. ¾ of the parents received an income of $2,000 or under per month. Third, many of the families did not have any type of dental insurance.
Dental public health programs in the United States operate on federal, state, or local levels. The roles and responsibilities of these programs are directly related to the level of which the program operates. Both similarities and differences can be seen when comparing dental public health programs with regard to organization, financing and delivery of care. Despite differences in the levels in which different dental public health programs operate, all of the programs share a common, generalized goal of improving the oral health status of the public.
I am one of the applicants for the 2016-2017 DDS cycle and I am writing to your school to express my interest in your DDS program. NYU School of Dentistry have many unique aspects that, when combined, will be able to provide me an education that allows me to be an exceptional dentist. Two of the aspects that I am most interested in for NYU is the evidence-based dental curriculum and the community impact that the school has locally and globally. Because of these aspects, NYU School of Dentistry is one of my top choices for dental school.
The employment of a dentist is expected to grow by 21 percent from 2010-2020, which is above average for most careers. It is thought that by generation to generation dental care will grow. People will be more likely to keep their teeth better than the past generations, therefore; dental care will be needed more and more in the years to come. As of now, dental job opportunities are so high that dentists and dental hygienists can have their first job picks. The salary outlook for dentists is expected to be high, anywhere from $141,000-$166,000. The American Dental Association, ADA, is a professional dental organization that was founded in 1859. ADA is the largest national dental society in the world. ADA is known for their leading source in oral and dental information. ADA approves dental products to make sure that they are everything that they say they are. The American Dental Association is located at 211 East Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Illinois and can be reached at 312-440-2500 or at affiliates@ada.org. It’s always good to look for the ADA approval seal on any dental product.
Although many Americans have good oral hygiene due to fluoride and making everyday good decisions, others do not have any access at all to oral health care. Over the years, dentists have been trying to demonstrate the importance of oral care. (“Access to Dental Care”) From commercials to campaigns, dentists will continue to demonstrate to their patients as well as to the people who don't have insurance the importance of oral health care. They will teach them preventative care and some techniques on how to prevent from getting any diseases.