Access to care remains a major issue. Consider the following:
- 111 million people visit primary care annually, but do not see a dentist.
- 27 million people visit a dentist annually, but not a primary care provider.
- Medical providers lack comfort with oral exams and systems for dental referrals.
- Dentists may not have training to feel comfortable providing care to very young children, pregnant women, & patients with special care needs.
- These are opportunities for better collaborative learning and management
Goals of this curriculum are to address these 3 concerns by training primary care and dental health professionals to prevent oral disease and prepare them with a basic approach to frequently encountered oral problems.