2026 Catalog: General Courses

The purpose of the annual Northwest Tribal Dental Meeting is to provide continuing dental education on various clinical, prevention, wellness, and cultural topics to the dental programs in the Portland area [ID/OR/WA].

NPAIHB Annual Meeting 2026: Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to:

Dental Directors Meeting
1.   Identify resources through the NTDSC and IHS to support I/T/U dental clinics including policies, procedures, and protocols.
2.   Implement quality assurance and quality improvement methods, including peer review, that assists in maintaining productive and efficient dental clinics.
3.   Employ strategies to manage staff; hiring, training and addressing conflict.


Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center
1.   Learn who the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center is and the communities they serve
2.   List the goals of the Northwest Tribal Dental Support
3.   List the objectives of the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center

Being an Ally in Indian Country
1.   Overview of Trauma and its connection to health outcomes
2.   Overview of historical trauma and ancestral wisdom
3.   Overview of Indigenous Wellness and healing

Infection Control
1.   Recognize how to prevent transmission of infectious agents through standard precautions, with a review of cross-contamination prevention, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette.
2.   Employ standard operating procedures to remain in compliance with regulation, which includes PPE and practitioner safety, sharps safety, safe injection practices, and environmental controls.
3.   Employ standard operating procedures to remain in compliance with regulation, which includes PPE and practitioner safety, sharps safety, safe injection practices, and environmental controls.

Career Advancements in Dentistry
1.   Promote career advancement programs available for I/T/U dental clinics.
2.   Provide specific pathways to access and complete career advancements for dental staff
3.   Provide available resources to assess clinical needs and determine proper staffing.

Wellness in the Workplace
1.   Participants will learn and engage in two team building activities.
2.   Participants will discuss and learn at least three solutions for resolving conflict.
3.   Participants will be able to identify at least 4 qualities of wellness in the workplace.

Medical Emergencies in the Dental Setting
1.   Recognize the signs, symptoms, and risk factors associated with the most common medical emergencies encountered in the dental office setting.
2.   Demonstrate appropriate emergency response procedures, including patient assessment, airway management, and use of emergency equipment and medications.
3.   Apply prevention and preparedness strategies, including medical risk assessment, stress reduction protocols, team coordination, and emergency training, to improve patient safety and outcomes in the dental practice.

Dental Prevention Update
1.    Learn to use public health strategies to improve oral health outcomes for the community.
2.   Build preventive and minimally invasive dentistry skills.
3.   Identify treatments that align with holistic and culturally appropriate care.

Oral Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Highlights
1.   Promote local AI/AN community outreach achievements for Portland Area Dental Programs that improve access to dental services.
2.   Improve local networks of I/T/U dental clinics to share information for the betterment of dental healthcare access.
3.   Identify resources, training opportunities and programs that promote staffing improvements to address shortages and that assists in better oral health outcomes.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
1.   Identify strategies to strengthen your dental team
2.   Identify prevention strategies to implement in your dental clinic
3.   Employ various workplace practices to increase wellness in both the dental clinic and oneself

Sean Kelly — Retired from the Commissioned Corps [USPHS - IHS] 8/1/2017. Maintained my position as the Dental Director for the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority until September 2021. Serving as the Clinical Consultant for the Northwest Tribal Dental Support Center since 2020. For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at drkelly55@gmail.com.

Ticey Mason — For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at tmason@npaihb.org.

Jillene Joseph — For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at jillene.joseph@aol.com.

Amanda Hill — For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at amandahillrdh@gmail.com.

Lori Snidow — Personal Description / Biography not available. For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at lori.snidow@ihs.gov.

Geniel Harrison — For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at Geniel.Harrison@ihs.gov.

Chloe Craig — Personal Description / Biography not available. For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at chloecraigdmd@gmail.com.

The speaker has no conflicts of interest to report.

It is the policy of the Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, that faculty/planners disclose any financial or other relationships with commercial companies whose products may be discussed in the educational activity. The Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, also requires that faculty disclose any unlabeled or investigative use of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Images that have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes are prohibited.

None of the faculty/planners for this activity has a conflict of interest, and there is no use of unlabeled or investigative pharmaceutical products or medical devices. No images have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes.The educational objectives, content, and selection of educational methods and instructors are conducted independent of any commercial entity.

The IHS Division of Oral Health is an accredited sponsor of continuing education under the American Dental Association Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP). ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the IHS at IHS CDE Coordinator or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at CCEPR.ada.org

This conference is open to staff in the Portland Area.

Please Make Checks Payable to: Indian Health Service.

Tuition must be paid in full 8 weeks prior to the start date of any course. Request for refunds must be received in writing at least two weeks before the course begins. For each refund request, there will be an administrative charge of $100. No refunds will be made to registrants who fail to attend a course. If IHS CDE program cancels a course, then 100% of the tuition will be refunded.