Northwest tribal dental support center - the northwest portland area indian health board (NPAIHB), a non-profit tribal organization representing all 43 federally recognized tribes in the portland area…

The Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service awarded the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board $1.845 million on December 1, 2025, under the Demonstration Projects for Indian Health program (CFDA 93.933) to operate the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center through November 30, 2030.

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, a nonprofit tribal organization representing all 43 federally recognized tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, delivers clinical and community-based oral health promotion and disease prevention services across the Portland Area. The center supports, guides, trains, and enhances tribal, Indian, and urban (I/T/U) dental programs while establishing a robust oral health surveillance system to monitor disease burden in American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The recipient pursues three broad objectives: promote clinical and community-based oral health promotion and disease prevention projects including surveillance; ensure quality and efficient care through public health and standards-of-care principles to improve dental access and oral health outcomes; and provide continuing dental education meeting state licensure requirements for Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The center collaborates with the Indian Health Service Area Dental Officer and the NPAIHB Dental Health Aide Project to coordinate services.

Work is performed in Oregon. The award obligated $1.845 million against a five-year period of performance requesting annual funding of $440,000.

Northwest tribal dental support center - the northwest portland area indian health board (NPAIHB), a non-profit tribal organization representing all 43 federally recognized tribes in the portland area (idaho, oregon, and washington), requests an annual funding of $440,000 for a five-year grant period to operate the northwest tribal dental support center (NTDSC). The NTDSC has demonstrated its ability to deliver an efficient and effective dental support center, improving oral health in american indian/alaska native (AI/an) communities, and has met or exceeded all previous goals over the last 25 years. NTDSC will focus on two priority goals for the portland area: supporting, guiding, training, and enhancing I/T/U dental programs; and ensuring that the services of the NTDSC and the I/T/U dental programs result in measurable improvements or outcomes in the oral health of the AI/an patients served. NTDSC will optimize the combined resources and infrastructure of the IHS headquarters and IHS portland area to work toward these goals. NTDSC will collaborate with both the IHS area dental officer (ADO) and the NPAIHB dental health aide project (DHAP) to ensure that our services complement each other. NTDSC proposes three objectives and 14 activities to improve the oral health of the AI/an population and address the needs of the dental programs in the portland area. The three broad objectives are: 1. Promote clinical and community-based oral health promotion/disease prevention projects and activities, including support for a robust oral health surveillance system monitoring the disease burden of the AI/an population in the portland area; 2. Ensure quality and efficient care through public health and standards of care principles to improve dental access and oral health outcomes for the portland area; and 3. Provide continuing dental education (CDE) at levels meeting state requirements for idaho, oregon, and washington. The objectives and activities will positively impact progress toward meeting or exceeding the government performance and results act (GPRA) objectives and working toward reducing oral health disparities between AI/an people and in the U.S. Population. All 46 dental clinics in the portland area will have access to services provided by the NTDSC. NTDSC staff consists of a project director, a project coordinator, and a clinical/prevention consultant. The staff and consultant have vast collective experience with IHS and tribal dental programs. The NTDSC's activities will be supported through communication with local dental programs via on-site program reviews; email and telephone consultations; virtual and in-person trainings; the NTDSC webpage, the annual northwest tribal dental meeting (NTDM); and ongoing training and technical assistance. NTDSC will work with IHS headquarters by participating in the national IHS updates dental meeting planning committee; promoting GPRA objectives; participating in national meetings; and collaborating with other dental support centers. All objectives will be evaluated using a combination of process and outcome evaluation techniques.