189646 Dental Health Aide Abstract

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 5:00 PM

Ron Nagel, DDS , Dental Programs, Alaska Native Tribal Health Corporation, Anchorage, AK
Ruth Ballweg, MPA, PA-C , MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Valerie Davidson, JD , Dental Programs, Alaska Native Tribal Health Corporation, Anchorage, AK
Brian L. Saylor, PhD, MPH , Institure of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
Benjamin R. Saylor, BS , Institure of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
     
Three presentations will review the development of the Dental Health Therapist in Alaska.

1. Alaska Native Tribal Health Corporation (ANTHC) representatives will discuss training of the first Alaska Dental Therapists in New Zealand as well as deployment strategies, scope of practice and the resolution of legal issues.

2. MEDEX Northwest—the University of Washington's Physician Assistant Program—will describe the development and implmentation of a Dental Therapist program in Anchorage. Using the MEDEX experience of developing competency based programs for adult learners, MEDEX partnered with ANTHC. Dental faculty members from numerous universities are providing classroom instruction. Two groups of native students are now in training with the first year in Anchorage Alaska and the second year in Bethel Alaska through a relationship with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation.

3. ANTHC contracted with the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) to evaluate the new program. UAArepresentatives will describe their application of simulation techniques to better understand the impact of the Alaska Dental Health Aide Program on the oral health status of rural Alaskan communities.

The service delivery system before and after the Dental Health Aides will be described, and the simulation parameters will be summarized. A demonstration of the model will show how changes in Dental Health Aide scope of practice, hours of operation and other administrative and clinical parameters can impact oral health status using a 20 year simulation.

Learning Objectives:
Objectives: Review rationale for the development of the program. Discuss the Native oral health care system in Alaska and how the Dental Health Aides function within this system. Describe the supervision and credentialing of Dental Health Aides. Review recent developments and accomplishments in the program Objectives: Review the steps in the creation of a new health profession according the MEDEX model. Recognize the significance of the Dental Health Aide Dental Therapist movement internationally. Discuss the links between competency based training and patient safety as they apply to the Dental Health Aide program. Consider “supervision” and how this concept applies differently to the practices of medicine and dentistry. Policy planning for Dental Health Aides in Alaska using discrete event simulation modeling, Ben Saylor and Brian Saylor, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage. Objectives: Assess the discrete event simulation modeling technique as a way of projecting the potential impact of management and policy decisions regarding rural health service delivery. Define appropriate clinical and administrative parameters for use in a simulation model. Recognize the strengths and limitations of discrete event simulation modeling in projecting long-term oral health outcomes in defined underserved populations.

Keywords: Alaska Natives, Oral Health Needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: i am a faculty member at the University of Washington, a contributor to this project and a regular presentor and author for this type of material.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: The Current Status of the Alaska Dental Health Aide Program
See more of: Oral Health