Delta Dental Awards $725,000 to Programs Working to Foster Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce

Delta Dental’s Inaugural Oral Health Diversity Fund winners include four organizations focused on inspiring school-age children from historically underrepresented groups to explore careers in oral health

WASHINGTON, October 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today, as part of it Driving greater diversity in the oral health workforce Campaign, the Delta Dental Institute announced the inaugural awards of the above 700,000 dollars from the Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund, the first national investment fund focused on ensuring that more school-aged children from historically underrepresented groups consider careers in oral health. The four winners are: Diversity in Dentistry Mentorships, the Hispanic Dental Association, NAF and the Association of American Indian Dentists.

“As the nation’s oral health leader and largest oral health philanthropist, Delta Dental embraces the opportunity to address the needs of the diverse communities we serve and contribute to more equitable health outcomes,” said. James W. Hutchison, President & CEO of Delta Dental Plans Association. “Our inaugural group of honorees will help our future dental professionals more closely represent the communities they serve so that all Americans can have better oral and overall health.”

Research has shown that racial and ethnic diversity among health professionals is associated with better patient satisfaction and improved health outcomes. However, the current oral health workforce does not reflect that diversity; less than 10% of dentists are black or Hispanic, while the same groups make up more than 30% of the US population. Funded programs propose innovative ways to address barriers that underrepresented populations face in pursuing oral health careers.

The recipients of the inaugural Delta Oral Health Diversity Fund award are:

• Diversity in Dentistry Mentorshipswhich Diversify Dentistry Youth Summit™, provides high school students of underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds with hands-on experiences, educational insights and mentorship to inspire them to consider a career in dentistry. of Diversify Dentistry Youth Summit™ the toolkit will be expanded to serve as a guide for dental schools to organize similar events.
• Hispanic Dental Associationwhose program Bold: Building our leaders in dentistry, is a pre-dental school mentoring program designed to introduce dentistry as a career option to students and influence more underrepresented minorities to enter the profession. Field presentations and workshops will be geared toward beginning elementary, middle school, and university students.
• NAFwhose program Promoting Oral Health Pathwaysit will be a newly created curriculum within them Academy of Health Sciences. This new program will include authentic project-based learning activities that can be applied to solve challenges affecting a student’s career field or community, along with opportunities to participate in immersive learning, based on working with experts developing skills to make informed decisions about their future.
• Association of American Indian Dentistswhose program Telling the story of a pathway to dentistry: Connecting AI/AN dentists with AI/AN youth, will address the lack of dentist role models in American Indian/Alaska Indian (AI/AN) communities. AI/AN volunteer dentists, armed with tailored materials, will present to local high school students in their community, sharing their unique journeys to become dentists and inspiring more local youth to consider and work toward a career in dentistry.

“By investing in organizations that are creating opportunities for young people from diverse communities to consider and prepare for a career in oral health, Delta Dental aims to close a significant gap in the oral health workforce and improve equity health,” he said. Jason Daughn, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Delta Dental Plans Association on behalf of the Delta Dental Institute. “We were impressed by the passion and creativity of the applicants to the Delta Oral Dental Health Diversity Fund and look forward to supporting our winners.”

The next round of applications for the Delta Oral Dental Health Diversity Fund will open in the spring of 2024; please visit www.deltadentalinstitute.com/fund to learn more.

About the Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund
Delta Dental has created the first national Oral Health Diversity Fund. This industry-leading fund makes targeted investments in comprehensive solutions, innovative pilots and scalable models that inspire school-age children from historically underrepresented groups to pursue a career in oral health. Visit www.deltadentalinstitute.com/fund to learn more.

About Delta Dental Institute
Delta Dental Institute is dedicated to advancing oral health for all Americans in partnership with Delta Dental companies and dedicated partners across the country. With expertise rooted in Delta Dental’s rich history of oral health leadership, we engage and support oral health research, community outreach and advocacy, striving to ensure that everyone understands the importance of oral health to overall health and access the care they need. . Visit deltadentalinstitute.com for more information.

About Delta Dental Plans Association
Based on Chicago, Illinois, Delta Dental Plans Association is the national nonprofit association of 39 independent Delta Dental companies. Through these companies, Delta Dental is the nation’s largest provider of dental benefits, covering more than 89 million Americans and offering the nation’s largest dental network with approximately 152,000 participating dentists. Over the past decade, Delta Dental companies and their foundations have invested 1.9 billion dollars to improve the oral and overall health of our communities.

SOURCE Delta Dental Institute