The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Dental Medicine two five-year grants totaling nearly $2.6 million as part of the federal government's effort to combat disparities in oral health.
The dental school is located near 10 Cleveland neighborhoods identified by the HRSA as having fewer than one dentist for every 5,000 people.
The first grant, which will focus on predoctoral training programs, awarded $1.28 million to the school's Family First Program and soon-to-be-established dual degree in doctor of dental medicine and masters of public health. Family First is a collaborative effort of the Departments of Family Medicine and Nutrition, and the school is collaborating with CWRU's School of Medicine's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to implement the dual-degree program.
Family First focuses on assessing risk for dental diseases from a whole-family and multigenerational perspective and is designed to integrate family medicine and nutrition with dental care.
Currently, 18 families from Cleveland, most with three generations and one with five generations, are being assessed for their dental needs. Student teams from the sophomore dental school class are seeing a total of 72 family members.
The second grant focuses on a postdoctoral training program in dental public health and awards $1.29 million to support a residency program at the School of Dental Medicine. Dental public health residents will be placed in community health centers and public health agencies.
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