ADA News

Dr. Berkey: An educator, editor and leader in geriatric dentistry, he serves as a leader in dental organizations worldwide.

Building on the foundation of more than three years of work in response to ADA House of Delegates Resolution 5H-2006, the newly formed National Elder Care Advisory Committee met at ADA Headquarters April 8-9.

"I am very enthusiastic about the work this group will be accomplishing now and in the future," said Dr. Nolan W. Allen, committee member and member of the ADA Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations. "These are the experts in elder care, and we are so fortunate to share their knowledge base for the good of the profession and the public we serve."

CAPIR approved the formation of the new group at its January meeting. The NECAC will advise CAPIR about policies, programs and other activities to improve the oral health of older adults.

NECAC replaces three ad hoc advisory committees formed in response to Res. 5H-2006—committees that addressed issues dealing with advocacy, education and research. The NECAC is charged with a variety of duties, including:

• building on the strategies and recommendations in Res. 5H-2006 and the accomplishments of the ad hoc advisory elder care committees; 
• assisting CAPIR to develop recommendations about policies, programs, interventions and research related to improving the oral health of the nation’s older adult population; 
• discussing access barriers facing older adults and making recommendations to minimize them;
• reviewing current ADA policies and making recommendations to CAPIR for amending and developing elder oral health related policies;
• serving as an informal conduit of information between the ADA and external organizations and institutions on activities related to elder oral health;
• identifying and making recommendations to CAPIR about approaches to promote elder oral health through mechanisms and partnerships in both the public and private sectors;
• helping CAPIR identify public and private resources to support proposed elder care oral health programs and other activities;
• fostering enhanced training opportunities in the provision of oral health care to older adults for the dental profession at undergraduate, predoctoral, postgraduate and continuing education levels.

NECAC members named to date include:

• Dr. Allen—a private practice dentist in Clearwater, Fla., member of CAPIR and past president of the Florida Dental Association. Dr. Allen helped launch a pilot project in Florida to bring an oral health education and prevention program to long-term care facilities and nursing homes using the OralLongevity materials developed by the ADA, the ADA Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.
• Dr. Douglas Berkey—a dental educator at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, editor-in-chief of Dental Abstracts and dental director for Total Longterm Care of Colorado. Dr. Berkey serves as a geriatric oral health expert for health organizations worldwide and provides dental services of older adults through TLC as well as CareDent, a portable dental system that provides oral health services in nursing homes.
• Dr. Teresa A. Dolan—professor and dean at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. Dr. Dolan's research has focused on access to care issues, oral health promotion and appropriate oral health outcomes for older populations. She has received numerous grants and awards, and her work in geriatric dentistry and geriatric dental education has been published extensively.
• Sandra Fitzler, R.N.—senior director of clinical service for the American Health Care Association, Ms. Fitzler is responsible for assessing health care policy and regulation affecting long-term care clinical practice and workforce, as well as for developing programs and initiatives in these areas. (AHCA is the nation's largest association of long-term and post-acute care providers. The organization advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans.)
• Dr. Greg Folse—a Louisiana dentist who provides geriatric dental care in a mobile practice. Dr. Folse is currently working with the ADA, Special Care Dentistry Association, the U.S. House and Senate and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve oral health care access and infrastructure and is the original author of the Special Care Dentistry Act, a bill requiring oral health services for aged, blind and disabled Medicaid-eligible adults that is expected to be reintroduced in Congress in the near future.
• Dr. Paul Glassman—professor and director of Community Oral Health at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Dr. Glassman is a past president of the Special Care Dentistry Association, serves as co-director of both UoP's Center for Special Care and California's Statewide Task Force on Oral Health for People with Special Needs and is an active advocate for the oral health of special needs patients at the local, state and national level.
• Dr. Gretchen Gibson—currently a staff dentist at the Fayetteville, Ark., Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Gibson has advanced training in dental public health and geriatric dentistry. She served as director of the Special Care Dental Clinics at the Dallas VA Medical Center for 13 years. Her lectures, research and publications focus on the areas of geriatric dental care, salivary dysfunction and the oral health of the homeless.
• Dr. Mike Helgeson—a founder of Apple Tree Dental, a nonprofit organization that operates three special care dental clinics and delivers on-site care at more than 100 collaborating urban and rural community sites—including Head Start Centers, schools, group homes and nursing facilities. Dr. Helgeson has also served as president of the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry and the Special Care Dentistry Association.
• Dr. Judith Ann Jones—professor and chair in the Department of General Dentistry at the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Jones' research involves clinical studies with vulnerable elderly who have cognitive impairment. She provided expertise to the ADA Elder Care Task Force, which formulated the recommendations outlined in Res. 5H-2006.
• Dr. Janet A. Yellowitz—associate professor and director of Geriatric Dental Programs at the University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Dr. Yellowitz is also a co-principal investigator in the Maryland Interdisciplinary Geriatrics Training Program in Medicine, Dentistry and Psychiatry. Her research has focused on older adults; the knowledge, opinions and practices of health professionals regarding oral cancer; and detection of oral cancer and HIV. She has presented numerous local, national and international programs on aging and oral health, oral care for older adults and recognizing cognitive changes in dental practice. Dr. Yellowitz is also dental director of a long-term care facility.

For more information about the NECAC, contact Barbara J. Smith, Ph.D., manager, Geriatric and Special Needs Populations for CAPIR by calling toll-free, Ext. 2697 or e-mailing smithb@ada.org.