Public Health Issue - Harvard School of Dental Medicine

alumni focusof Dental Medicine, during which she had a child, Aleena, nowfour-and-a-half years old. After graduating in 2008, Sachetiwent into private practice. In 2009, she began working in theHead Start program. “I had a lot to learn about making policy,data use, and so on,” she says. “We needed more dentists to seeage-one kids. These visits are very different from the threeyear-oldvisits. Happily, we found dentists willing to learn,but we also needed pediatricians to get on board with thepreventive aspects.”To help parents and very young children get on boardas well, in 2011 Sacheti published Happy, Healthy Teeth: AGuide to Children’s Dental Health, a book designed to provideaccurate oral-health information in a fun context. Cowrittenwith a hygienist and a social worker, both of whom are part ofthe Head Start team, the book features photographs of youngchildren and a simple rhyming text. Parents are encouragedto read the book with their kids. Happy, Healthy Teeth, createdwith a grant from the DentaQuest Foundation and endorsedby the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, is currentlybeing translated into Spanish, with Portuguese next andeventually 11 languages in all.“The book came about,” says Sacheti, “because I waslooking at books about going to the dentist to read withAleena when she was younger. The books I found were filledwith inaccuracies. So, since I had always wanted to write achildren’s book, I decided to write one about a topic near tomy heart.” She was editing and putting the finishing toucheson the book while she was pregnant with her second child,Ara (age one), and postpartum. “It was a crazy time,” she says.Sacheti’s husband, Rajeev Surati, an engineer who owns his owncompany, provides immense moral support for Sacheti’s efforts.In addition to the Head Start program, Sacheti isinvolved in Connect the Dots, a program of the Council onAction and Preventive Interrelations, the prevention arm of theMassachusetts Dental Society. This program brings togethermedical and dental providers to ensure that they all presentthe same message regarding the importance of the initialdental visit for children at age one. “Many pediatricians are stilltelling parents to take their children for their first dental visitat age three,” says Sacheti, “although the American Academy ofPediatric Dentistry has been recommending the age-one visitfor the past 20 years.” Connect the Dots consists of a series oflectures, with continuing education credit available throughthe Massachusetts Dental Society, covering such topics as theHead Start program, the importance of the age-one dentalvisit, performing an infant exam, the logistics in the dentaloffice, and the cost-effectiveness of these visits for the dentalpractice. “We have found that the age-one visits have become apractice builder,” says Sacheti.Sacheti also participates in the state’s oral healthconsortium, which meets quarterly and includesrepresentatives from a variety of fields, including the WIC(Women, Infants, and Children) program, the Massachusettsdental schools, local community health centers, MassHealth,and the AAPD (represented by Sacheti). “Public healthdentistry was an interest of mine even while I was at HSDM,”she says. “I participated in a lot of service activities and wantedsomething related to dentistry that I could eventually pursueoutside of private practice.”Sacheti’s efforts are being recognized by many outsideher practice as well. In 2011, she was selected as one of the“Ten Under 10” by the Massachusetts Dental Society, honoringdentists who have graduated from dental school within10 years and have made a significant contribution to theprofession, their community, and/or organized dentistry. Fullyimmersed in the fields of public health and clinical dentistry,Sacheti exemplifies the HSDM mission of developing andfostering leaders in academia, practice, and service. HSDM isproud to count her among the ranks of the School’s alumni. •Update Your InformationTo keep up with the latest news and information fromHSDM, make sure the School has your current e-mailand mailing addresses. Update your information at hsdm.harvard.edu/alumni/update or at alumni.harvard.edu.harvard dental bulletin • winter 2012–133