Grants to states to support oral health workforce activities - the proposed tamcod special care dentistry workforce development project operates through three channels to strengthen the oral health…

Grants to states to support oral health workforce activities - the proposed tamcod special care dentistry workforce development project operates through three channels to strengthen the oral health workforce in texas. Within the texas a & m college of dentistry, the project reimagines training in special health care needs (shcn) dentistry through a partnership between three tamcod programs: the compromised care & hospital dentistry (cchd) fellowship; the advanced education in general dentistry (aegd) department; and the pediatric dentistry (peds) department. Across north texas, the project partners with external community clinics and two hospital facilities to provide inter-professional training to treat shcn patients. Across texas, the project will create a technical assistance network open to all state supported living living centers. This network will provide training sessions to sslc oral health providers to increase their capacity to treat shcn patients in their care. Additionally, technical support will be provided to other colleges of dentistry across the state as they initiate SCD training programs and facilities. This project incorporates additional clinical and didactic instruction for members of the current and future oral health workforce. Topics include oral health care for patients with medically complex health conditions, special health care needs, behavioral health care needs, and pediatric patients. This proposal will emphasize patient-centered care and social determinants of health, equipping participants to care for individuals as well as populations. Each year, we anticipate the project training 36 tamcod postdoctoral trainees (4 cchd fellows; 22 peds residents; 10 aegd residents), 104 predoctoral students, and 30 dental hygiene students. Together, these trainees represent 680 new members of the oral health workforce with exposure to schn training. Through the state supported living center (sslc) technical assistance network, we anticipate equipping oral health providers at all 13 sslc facilities across texas with the skills to better treat shcn patients in their care. Each year, project trainees will deliver oral health care to over 6,000 patients across the state. The project has seven objectives : OBJ. 1: expand one-year cchd fellowship from two to four fellows annually OBJ. 2: enhance peds & aegd residency rotations with shcn patients OBJ. 3: enhance predoctoral and dental hygiene experiential training with vulnerable and underserved patients. OBJ. 4: increase access to dental care for vulnerable, underserved, medically compromised, and special needs patients in north texas OBJ. 5: cultivate cultural competency and diversity for all trainees OBJ. 6: establish network of sslc technical assistance to increase existing providers' clinical skills and capacity to treat shcn patients OBJ. 7: establish network of technical assistance to state dental schools to increase existing providers' clinical skills and capacity to treat shcn patients