Improving access to care with a new dental team member: The community dental health coordinator

The Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC), a new member of the oral health team, is from the community that they serve and is responsible for promoting oral health through organized and dentally-coordinated community-based prevention programs. Working in underserved communities with no or limited access to dental care, the CDHC is able to influence local health and community organizations to adopt initiatives to promote oral health. CDHCs are employed by health centers, the Indian Health Service and tribal clinics in rural and urban areas. Under the supervision of a dentist, CDHCs implement community programs that are integrated with clinics providing dental services in their communities. The CDHC works in collaboration with other interested oral health stakeholders to promote good oral health and provide prevention services and coordination of dental care. The American Dental Association is in the final phase of the CDHC pilot project, developed to educate, train and deploy this new type of community health worker, one with a focus on patient education, disease prevention and patient navigation. Training of 3 cohorts began in 2009 and was completed in November, 2012. The pilot program graduated 34 students who are now working in underserved areas around the country. Presently a comprehensive evaluation of the program is being conducted to gather data to analyze the impact of the CDHCs in their communities. This presentation provides an overview of the training of the CDHC and the success stories of CDHCs working in the field currently.