Your generosity is important to us - School of Dental Medicine ...

Public health program is one of only two in midwest
the Case Western reserve University school of Dental
medicine is quickly becoming a center for dental public health
training thanks to new academic programs spearheaded by
Dr. sena narendran. the school is now offering a dual-degree
program in dental medicine and public health (DmD/mPH), a
residency program, and a fellowship. these programs will be
implemented within the next few months.
each of the first two programs is funded for five years by the
Health resources and services administration (Hrsa), to the
combined amount of nearly $2.6 million. the residency program
will be the only Hrsa-funded program of its type in the United
states for the next few years. Further, it will be one of only two
dental public health training programs in the midwest.
there is an immediate need for public health dentists. there were
4,438 Dental Health Professional shortage areas (DHPsa) in the
United states as of February 2012. nearly 48 million people live in
the DHPsas. the number of americans without dental insurance is
more than 130 million and about 17 million low-income children
visit the dentist less often than once a year. among children aged
two years of age and older only 45 percent had a dental visit during
a 12-month period. of the 60 DHPsas in the state of ohio, 10 of
them are located in Cuyahoga County. it is anticipated that most of
the CWrU-trained dental public health professionals will choose to
work in the local or national
underserved areas.
the advanced education/residency
program in dental public health at
CWrU has three tracks to meet
different candidate’s needs:
• one year full-time,
• two year part-time, and
• two year full-time
the first two tracks are for dentists with
an accredited master’s degree in public
health (mPH); the last track is for
dentists without an mPH or equivalent
degree. students in this track will
primarily be working towards the
accredited mPH program at the CWrU school of medicine during
the first year of the residency program and will be primarily
engaged in the dental public health residency activities at the
school of Dental medicine during the second year. those
successfully completing the advanced education/residency
program will be educationally qualified to take the examination of
the american Board for Dental Public Health (aBDPH).
About 17 million low-income
children visit the dentist less
often than once a year.
Among children aged two
years of age and older only
45 percent had a dental visit
during a 12-month period.
the length of the DmD/mPH dual degree curriculum is five years,
one of which is dedicated to mPH courses. the mPH dedicated year
can be taken before beginning the DmD program, between the first
and second DmD years, or between the second and third DmD
years. other options will be considered
on a case-by-case basis.
the objectives of the 12-month dental
public health fellowship program are to
provide didactic instruction in dental
public health including research
methods, opportunities to participate in
oral health promotion activities in
underserved areas, and extramural
experiences at public health agencies.
the Hrsa funding will provide eligible
dental public health residents and
DmD-mPH students financial support
for tuition, stipend, and student health
insurance during their public health
training years. trainees will also receive travel funding to attend a
national meeting and to extramural clinics for their public health
practicum.
For additional information about any of the dental public health
training programs, please contact the director, Dr. sena narendran
(216.368.1311/sxn100@case.edu) or the program assistant, ms.
Wendy Beins (216.368.6737/ wxb103@case.edu). n
summer 2012 x 15