In 2009, the American Dental Association launched the
Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) pilot project in order to examine,
evaluate, and resolve factors that cause members of the population to go without
oral healthcare in their day-to-day lives. According to new ADA President
Robert Faiella, the purpose of this program is to “…address barriers to oral
health that go beyond poverty.” The CDHC also serves as a training program of
sorts for members of these underserved communities. Recently, the program
“graduated” and released 18 newly trained CDHCs back into their communities (e.g.,
remote rural areas, inner cities, and American Indian lands) to spread the much-needed
message of regular oral health.
Several days ago, the ADA released an overview of the
program called “Breaking down Barriers to Oral Health for All Americans: The
Community Dental Health Coordinator” (http://www.ada.org/breakingdownbarriers.aspx).
The paper examines the underlying concept of the CDHC, as well as the
development of the curriculum, student recruitment, roles of the participating
organizations and institutions, the evaluation of the success of the project,
and reportable results. How do you think the CDHC program might affect the
future of the dental profession in the United States? Do you think there will
be an impact on formal dental education?