Postdoctoral Training in General, Pediatric and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene - BACKGROUND: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Division of Dentistry provides oral health care for children with special health care needs and other children in metro Atlanta and rural Georgia. There are many dental health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) throughout all rural and urban areas of the state, including areas in metro Atlanta. The shortages are most significant for those who can care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex conditions as they transition from pediatric to adult-based care. We started an advanced education program in pediatric dentistry program in 2022 to educate the future oral health workforce and help meet the community's needs. PURPOSE: To increase the number of primary care dentists working in community-based organizations serving rural and/or underserved communities. Focus areas include caring for vulnerable populations and dental public health with two aims: To meet the needs of all children through collaborative practice settings, rotations with community-based organizations (CBO), and interprofessional education and to improve public health and advocacy education for our primary trainees (pediatric dentistry residents) and trainees in other healthcare professions. METHODS: This project has five main activities: 1. We will expose residents to different models of care through CBO rotations; residents will provide direct patient services in a collaborative setting. This will be accomplished through rotations (Two 4-week rotations for each resident per year) at Mercy Care, a federally qualified health center (FQHC). 2. This initiative will enhance residents' experience in multi-disciplinary care clinics at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (i.e., Cleft and Craniofacial Disorders, Comprehensive Bleeding Disorders, Bone Marrow Transplant, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Cardiology, etc). 3. In order to enhance and improve public health education for pediatric dentistry residents, a Master of Public Health (MPH) and Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry (accomplished in three years) will be offered to one resident per enrolling class in cooperation with Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. 4. The program will also enhance interprofessional education/collaborative practice rotations with the Departments of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine to ensure that oral health is part of overall health. This will be accomplished through monthly interdepartmental reciprocal rotation, lectures, and an enhanced referral system. 5. To address the transition of care to adult care providers for individuals with special healthcare needs, we will provide continuing education activities for dentists and support a coalition of stakeholders to further investigate this problem and propose The partnerships with Emory and Morehouse for interdisciplinary education and multi- disciplinary complex care clinics at Children's will be conducted annually during the 5-year grant period. The CBO rotation (Mercy Care), MPH option, and transition of care initiative will require part of a planning year in year one to develop those programs further. Funding priorities requests for categories 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.
