Second National Conference on
Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations:
Strategy and Action for Communities, Providers, and a Changing Health System

Oral Health for All: New Models for Dental Care Delivery and Practice

Two recent national reports, Healthy People 2010 and the Surgeon GeneralĖs Report on Oral Health, highlighted significant disparities in oral health status experienced by culturally diverse populations. A major reason for the differences in oral health status is the lack of access to dental care for underserved populations. The California Dental Access Project (CDAP) was created to better understand the barriers to receiving care these populations face, and to examine new models of care delivery with the goal of increasing oral health status of culturally diverse and underserved populations. This poster will give an overview of the disparities in oral health status for different groups, explore the multitude of barriers that diverse populations face in accessing dental care, and present specific models that are currently in use or being developed to address these barriers.

This project has investigated how the integration of new technology and evidenced-based care into dentistry can increase the quality of oral health care received by all. The focus is on the many opportunities that exist to increase access to oral health care, and ultimately the oral health status, for diverse populations. There are effective models and best practices that should be implemented in the community, by state and federal agencies, through foundation initiatives and projects, and in health professions education.

Our research has uncovered a variety of barriers to changing the way oral health services are delivered for diverse populations. These include provider attitudes towards serving diverse populations, and the lack of culturally diverse education and training. As well, there are very few minority oral health care providers, and services are not distributed equally in minority and non-minority communities.

Increasing access for diverse populations requires multifaceted efforts with new and innovative approaches to both the provision of dental care and a focus on oral health as essential to overall health. A variety of strategies have been undertaken to improve the oral health of diverse populations. At the community level, culturally sensitive outreach and education, diverse care providers, and a collaborative community health focus are necessary. At the state and federal level workforce programs, better public insurance programs, and fluoridation efforts are models that are effective. In health professions education, the recruitment and retention of diverse providers, community based education, and the application of new technology are all efforts that need to be continued. However, much more needs to be done, including examination of evidence based care, culturally appropriate outreach and service delivery, the integration of dental and medical care delivery for vulnerable populations, and targeting at-risk populations using individual and community level risk assessment tools.

Beth Mertz, MPA joined the Center for the Health Professions in 1997. In 1994 she graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelorĖs in Political Science, and in 1997 she received her masterĖs in Public Affairs at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. Her graduate work focused on international development issues, specifically on how policy could meet the needs of disadvantaged women in developing countries. While at the Center she has done a variety of work around workforce diversity, including a report on underrepresented minorities in medical school, a report on the public health workforce in California, and a report on the distribution and composition of dentists in California. Her current project (CDAP) is examining new care delivery models and initiatives that are intended to increase access and provide quality oral health care services for underserved and culturally diverse populations both in California and across the nation.

Elizabeth Mertz, MPA
Project Director, The California Dental Access Project
Center for the Health Professions
3333 California Street, Suite 410
San Francisco, CA 94118
Phone: 415-502-7934
Fax: 415-476-4113
Email: bethm@itsa.ucsf.edu
http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu

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