American Indian and Alaska Native Oral Health: Challenges and Opportunities

The oral health disparities American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) communities face can be directly linked to colonization. Several centuries later, striking and alarming inequities persist and are calling out for solutions.  

In this webinar — a collaboration between CareQuest Institute and native-led organizations — a panel of experts will detail those disparities, highlighting several statistics and examples about access to care and health outcomes. The panel will discuss findings and recommendations from a new white paper, “American Indian and Alaska Native Communities Face a ‘Disproportionate Burden of Oral Disease’: Reversing Inequities Involves Challenges and Opportunities.” They’ll also share ongoing culturally and community-driven strategies — for providers, policymakers, and educators — to improve AI/AN oral health.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the specific and systemic barriers to oral health care, such as structural racism, that native communities face in accessing oral health care.  
• Discuss the importance of culturally and community-driven strategies for improving oral health in native communities.
• Examine opportunities for implementing and supporting the development of culturally and community-driven strategies for improving oral health in native communities.
• Analyze the multifactorial solutions native-led organizations are implementing to improve the oral health system for native communities.

Moderator & Presenter

Cristin Haase, DMD, MPH, President, Society of American Indian Dentists

Presenters

Julie Seward, RDH, MEd, Oral Health Programs Manager, Southern Plains Tribal Health Board  

Miranda Davis, DDS, MPH, Director, Dental Health Aide Program, Tribal Community Health Provider Program

Kari Ann Kuntzelman, Dental Health Aide Education Specialist and Dental Therapist, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Immediate Past President of the American Dental Therapy Association

This webinar will be recorded.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. CareQuest Institute for Oral Health designates this activity for 1 continuing education credit.
This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

Participating instructors in this program have disclosed that they have the following financial arrangement or affiliation with the listed corporate organization offering financial support or grant monies for or related to the content of this program/activity.

Society of American Indian Dentists is a grantee of CareQuest Institute.