Dental professor to aid in U.S. dental curriculum update

A University of Maine at Augusta dental health programs assistant professor will help update the curriculum for the American Dental Education Association.

Kathryn Walker, RDH, MSEd. Image courtesy of the University of Maine at Augusta.

For the yearlong project, Kathryn Walker, RDH, MSEd, along with a specialized team, will focus on updating the preclinical and clinical dental hygiene section of the ADEA Compendium of Curriculum Guidelines for Allied Dental Education Programs for 2026.

Updated every decade, the compendium sets standards for dental education, guiding new program developers and educators on essential course content. By establishing a uniform standard of competencies, it aims to promote collaboration among dental professionals and other health workers and inform other healthcare fields about key aspects of dental education.