Postdoctoral Training in General, Pediatric and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene - AHS is applying for $450,000 per year over a 5-year grant period ($2.25 million in total) under the HRSA-25-075 Postdoctoral Training in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry Program. AHS Dental Clinic is the first Teaching Health Center in Northern California. AHS was awarded the HRSA FY 2023 Teaching Health Center Planning and Development (THCPD) grant and has been successfully working with HRSA technical assistance to prepare for its AEGD residency program. AHS’ proposed project aims to establish an in-house, CODA-accredited Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency program based in Alameda County with 2-4 residents per class. The first residency class is expected to matriculate in July 2026. This postdoctoral program will train future oral health providers in a community health setting to increase the number of postdoctoral trained primary care dentists who choose to practice in rural or underserved areas in community-based organizations. AHS’ AEGD program will also cultivate future dentists to address the complex oral health needs of its patient population. This will occur by providing residents with exposure and experience with a wide range of varying oral health cases, and through hands-on clinical experience in providing oral health care for AHS’ patient population. AHS’ AEGD residency program will be based out of its newest Asian Health Services Dental and Wellness Clinic, located in San Leandro, California. This postdoctoral program will train future oral health providers in a community health setting to better meet the health needs of AHS’ target population (i.e. un/underinsured, low-income, and limited English proficiency (LEP) patients). By training residents within the community health setting, AHS’ proposed project will foster compassion for community health work and equip residents with the tools to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care to meet the unique needs of AHS’ target patient population, which includes the low-income, LEP, un/underinsured, among others. Furthermore, AHS is hopeful that residents’ experience in its dental residency program will instill core beliefs of AHS’ mission statement of providing health and social services for all regardless of income, insurance status, language, or culture. By immersing residents in this type of health care setting, AHS hopes that residents will carry these values in continuing their career path working in a community-based health setting. AHS is requesting the following funding priorities: (1) Collaborative Project; (6) Cultural Competency and Oral Health Literacy; and (8) Special Populations. Documentation of AHS’ eligibility for the indicated funding priorities is provided in Attachment 6.
