The ADA's Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) program is welcoming its second group of students, while the initial student group moves on to six-month clinical internships, the second phase of their training, according to an ADA news release.
Funded by the ADA, the three-year CDHC pilot program trains students at three program sites to become community health workers with a special focus on dental skills to work in underserved communities, helping residents improve their oral care. The goal is for graduates to return and work in their home communities, eliminating the social and cultural barriers that otherwise could impede their effectiveness, according to the ADA.
The program focuses on oral health education and disease prevention. Community dental health workers are trained to perform limited preventive procedures and help patients who need dental care navigate the system, linking them with dentists to provide that care.
A kickoff event will be held March 26 and 27 at Rio Salado College in Tempe, AZ. The event will feature six new students from each of the three pilot program sites, current students who are moving into the internship phase of their training, and CDHC educators and ADA leaders.
Program pilot sites are Temple University in Philadelphia, which focuses on urban areas; the University of Oklahoma, where community workers will concentrate on remote rural communities; and the University of California, Los Angeles in conjunction with Salish Kootenai College in Montana, whose graduates will work in Native American areas.
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