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In 2021, the CDA Foundation entered into a grant agreement with the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Oral Health to provide training and materials to educate dentists and the public on the administration and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
As the philanthropic arm of the California Dental Association, the Foundation has been dedicated to its mission since its inception in 2001: Improving the oral and general health of all Californians by supporting the dental profession in its efforts to meet the needs of community.
Many California dentists, dental students, dental professionals and individuals know the Foundation through its grant and award programs and 12 annual volunteer dental clinics held in communities across the state, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Foundation to expand its advocacy his and reach new areas.
COVID-19 brought increased precautions in dentistry with changes in acceptable PPE, administrative practices, airspace filtration and patient screening – including the use of rapid testing for SARS-Cov-2.
Dental offices became vital to the state’s vaccination efforts
When a COVID-19 vaccine became available, state law made dentists eligible as vaccinators for the first time in California. Creating opportunities to vaccinate at every entry point into the health care system, including dental offices, became vital to increasing access to preventive care.
CDA, the Foundation and California dentists responded. “Pathogens, Testing, and Vaccines: The Role of California Dentists in the Public Health Response to COVID-19,” published in the latest collection of the Journal of the California Dental Association, reviews this response.
Richard Graham, DDS, chairman of the CDA Foundation Board of Directors and lead author of the article, writes:
“I am impressed with the collaborative efforts of CDA, California dental leadership, dentists statewide, and our partners in the state legislature and academia to adapt and promote sound practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. While no one was left untouched from the global consequences of the virus, the dental profession was particularly effective in its ability and willingness to implement new guidelines to protect our patients, ourselves and the general public. The field of health care is undergoing a continuous evolution and I am proud for my profession’s ability to also evolve to continue to provide dental care safely.”
The grant supports the creation of the Vaccine Confidence Toolkit for dentists
To showcase some of the work carried out during the pandemic as part of the grant agreement with the Office of Oral Health, the Foundation published the 2021-2023 Vaccine Trust Grant Impact Report and Summary.
The vaccine trust grant supported the Foundation’s efforts to:
- Learn California dentists’ views on vaccination.
- Develop and provide free curriculum on proper storage, distribution, and reporting of COVID-19 vaccination.
- Create a comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination toolkit for dentists to share with patients and colleagues.
In its 2021 survey of dentists in California, the Foundation learned, for example, that dentists not only had a high vaccination rate compared to the general population, but that dentists reported feeling comfortable in their role to encourage patients to be vaccinated.
The survey results supported CDA’s creation of the Vaccine Belief Tool to help educate dentists, their patients, and the public about the safety and efficacy of vaccines with resources such as office flyers, sample social media posts, sample announcements that dental offices can use to promote in-office vaccination programs and talking points to address vaccine hesitancy.
The grant supports the creation of CE courses on vaccine administration and compliance
The grant also enabled the Foundation to work with the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry to create in-person and online continuing education courses focused on the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, patient preparation, and proper documentation that complies with dental board Requirements.
By meeting the requirements of the grant contract, the CDA Foundation determined the value of vaccination by dental teams and identified communities with the highest need that could be strengthened by vaccination efforts.
Foundation and CDA members made significant progress to increase vaccine confidence among dentists, dental team members, and patients and open opportunities for further engagement in disease prevention efforts.
Read the Foundation’s Vaccine Trust Grant impact report.
