Skip to site content

2023 Catalog: All Courses

To view other courses in this category, use the “Previous” and “Next” buttons. To select this course and request approval, please login. Need more help reading this page?



DE0769: IHS Monthly SPECIAL CDE Webinar: "Bridging the Gap: Dental Health Aide Therapists [DHATs]" [Recorded Webinar]

 
Date: 3/20/2023 - 9/30/2023
Course Status: Completed
Facility: Division of Oral Health
Location:
Instructor: Mandie Smith
Director: Timothy Ricks
Level: Review
Audience: Dentists, Hygienists, Assistants, DHA
Quota: 1 - 1000 students
Tuition: $0.00
Hours: 0.50 (Total CDE); 0.50 (DANB Non-Clinical); 0.50 (AGD - 550)
Joint Sponsorship: No
Lecture icon Question and Answer icon
Summary:

Have you ever wanted to learn more about dental therapy and DHATs? Here's your chance.

With dental therapy in the IHS now in four states, and the Community Health Aide Program expanding in the near future, this special webinar looks at the role of the Dental Therapist, and specifically the Dental Health Aide Therapist, in increasing access to underserved populations and areas. The speaker,
CAPT Mandie Smith from the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, has long been an advocate in alternative dental workforce models, training and mentoring DHATs for 18 years, making her the most experienced DHAT supervisor in the IHS. She currently manages two DHATs at the Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center in Sitka, Alaska.

A study commissioned by the Indian Health Service Division of Oral Health in 2017-2018 with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore evaluated various alternative dental workforce models employed in the IHS. DHATs had a tremendous impact on access to dental care versus a traditional workforce model, but perhaps their greatest impact was on the delivery of preventive services. Compared to traditional workforce models, DHATs produced as much as 220 more preventive services as well as 26 more diagnostic services, and programs that used DHATs produced 133 more higher level dental services that those using a traditional workforce model.

Learn more about how DHATs are selected, trained, and constantly mentored, and learn how - very soon - your own IHS or tribal dental practice might be able to learn from the Alaska model and integrate dental therapists into the team to improve access to critical dental services.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this training/course, participants should be able to:
1. Describe dental therapist [DHAT] candidate selection and training;
2. Describe DHAT preceptorship and ongoing mentorship to establish scope of practice; and
3. Learn how to integrate dental therapists [DHATs] into your dental team and ensure long-term success.

Speaker / Presenter:

Mandie Smith — Chief of complex unit, Mt Edgecumbe Hospital, Sitka,AK For follow-up questions, please contact the speaker at mandies@searhc.org.

Disclosure Policy:

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.

Accreditation:
The IHS Division of Oral Health is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider

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

Prerequisites:

None

Tuition Payment Information:

Tuition Policy:

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.