Elevating the Voices of Indigenous Peoples in Dentistry: Ongoing Challenges and Promising Solutions

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, this webinar, created in partnership with the Society of American Indian Dentists, will highlight the critical need for Indigenous representation in the dental field. Our expert panel will begin by exploring how colonization and systemic inequities have shaped disparities in oral health among Indigenous communities. They'll then discuss the challenges Indigenous students face in pursuing dental education, such as access to opportunities, resources, and mentorship, and use new data from CareQuest Institute and the Indian Health Service (IHS) to shed light on the shortage of Native American dental professionals. They'll close by offering practical strategies for building new pathways into dentistry and how those pathways improve access to care and health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the lasting impact of colonization on the oral health status of Indigenous communities.
• Explore strategies for building pathways into dentistry, fostering collaborations, and supporting mentorship programs for Indigenous students.
• Evaluate how increasing Native representation in the dental workforce can improve Indigenous populations’ access to care and health outcomes.

Moderator and Presenter

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

Presenter

Adrian Sandoval, DDS, Vice President, Society of American Indian Dentists

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.

All participating instructors in this program have disclosed that they do not have any financial arrangement or affiliation with the listed persons or entity(ies) offering financial support, products, and/or services mentioned or related to the content of this program/activity.