Community Dental Health Coordinators

 

	About the CDHC The American Dental Association has been promoting oral health care through community based initiatives since its inception. In 2006, the ADA House of Delegates established the Workforce Models National Coordinating and Development Committee (NCDC) to create a Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) model training program. The program is an initiative to bring oral health care to underserved communities and is being piloted in three locations. The ADA later announced at annual session that Henry Schein Inc. had agreed to support the CDHC program. Henry Schein Inc. Chairman and CEO Stanley M. Bergman described their support as "an important new chapter in the Henry Schein long-term collaboration with the American Dental Association." Additional CDHC Information Background Committee Phase 1 Phase 2 Pilot Training Sites Future of the CDHC Frequently Asked Questions CDHC Curriculum Outline CDHC Brochure (PDF) ADA Statement on CDHCs (PDF) Video: Introduction to CDHC		Photo by EZ Event Photography "Seeing the first cohorts of students to graduate from this program is inspiring and gratifying. This is a new generation of dental professionals ready to carry forward the Association’s legacy of commitment to expand access to oral health care for years to come." —Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and CEO of Henry Schein Inc.

 

Background

“The CDHC’s greatest strengths are the decrease in missed appointments; coordination of care; and management of follow-up care, prevention and education.” —Dr. Amid I. Ismail, 2010 CDHC program director; Dean, Temple University, Kornberg School of Dentistry

To help expand access to the same high quality dental care available to all Americans, the ADA is helping to develop a new member of the oral health team, a Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC). CDHCs are community health workers with dental skills focusing on education and prevention. As a member of the dental team led by a dentist, the CDHC works in underserved communities where residents have no or limited access to dental care. CDHCs will provide limited clinical services and help connect patients to dentists who will provide treatment. CDHC candidates are drawn from the communities in which they will serve. They understand the social barriers that prevent access to available oral health services and, therefore, can more effectively help their neighbors overcome these barriers. The CDHCs are new allied dental personnel intended to be employed by Federally Qualified Health Clinics, the Indian Health Service and tribal clinics, state or county public health clinics, or private practitioners serving dentally-underserved areas.

The ADA believes that the solution to the access to care problem depends on employing community-based initiatives to remove barriers, educate the public and promote good oral health habits. The CDHC program embodies this philosophy.

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Committee

"I got involved in the program because I believe in its potential to increase dental health care access to the community." —Calvin Hoops, 2010 CDHC student, Temple University

The National Coordinating and Development Committee (NCDC) was established to create a CDHC model training program. In 2006, the Workforce Models NCDC was charged with identifying funding to pilot the training program in three sites, monitoring the pilot programs and reporting progress to the ADA Board of Trustees and the ADA Foundation.

Members of the Workforce Models NCDC and Curriculum Committee (CC) were appointed by the ADA President and have expertise in dentistry, dental education, public health, instructional design and program evaluation.

The Workforce Models NCDC called for letters of interest to identify potential institutions for piloting the program. Interested schools, institutions and other organizations were invited to submit a letter of interest for participation in both developing the model curriculum under Phase 1 and serving as a pilot training site under Phase 2.

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Phase 1

Phase 1 of the program involved development of a model CDHC training program by the ADA’s Workforce Models NCDC and CC.

The model CDHC training program developed in Phase 1 is approximately 18 months in length and includes a comprehensive curriculum with objectives, outlines, teaching aides, resources, learning activities and evaluation mechanisms.

Funded by the ADA Foundation, Phase 1 was initiated in November 2006 and concluded in December 2007.

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Phase 2

Phase 2 was the launch of the pilot for the CDHC training program model in urban, rural and American Indian reservations. Eleven trainees were part of the training program which commenced in March 2009.

They began their internships in the spring of 2010 and graduated in the fall of 2010. A second cohort of trainees entered the program in spring 2010 and eight CDHCs graduated in the fall of 2011.

The third and final cohort of 19 trainees began their didactic coursework in March 2011 and are expected to complete their training in the fall of 2012.

In early 2011, the ADA and the AT Still University Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) opened a CDHC education and training program based at that institution's Mesa, Arizona campus. 

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Pilot Training Sites

 

"I expect to make a difference in the community. Even if I help one family, I know I did my job." —Christina Rosario, 2010 CDHC student, Temple University

The pilot training program sites are: The rural site—University of Oklahoma, with Rio Salado College (Arizona) delivering the on-line components of the curriculum. The hands-on clinical training will occur in Indian Health Service facilities, Tribal Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers. The American Indian site—A.T. Still University Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health (ASDOH) in Mesa, Arizona, with Rio Salado College (Arizona) delivering the online components of the curriculum.  The urban site—Temple University (Pennsylvania), with Rio Salado College (Arizona) delivering the online components of the curriculum. The training for urban-based CDHCs will occur in Federal Qualified Health Centers.

 

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Future of the CDHC

• Third party evaluation is being conducted.
• ADA-funded pilot program ended in 2012.
• Long-term funding being sought from business and charitable sectors, state and local governments.
• The goal is for schools to adopt the curriculum and states to adopt the model.
• For ongoing CDHC news, check ADA News.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Download the Frequently Asked Questions and CDHC Curriculum Outline documents for additional information.

•  Community Dental Health Coordinator FAQ (PDF)

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CDHC Curriculum Outline

The number of training hours and an overview of the online curriculum are included in the outline, which is available to download below.

• Community Dental Health Coordinator Curriculum Outline (PDF)

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