The shortage was cited in a report released earlier this year describing the “disproportionate burden” of oral health disease faced by American Indians and Native Alaskans in the U.S. from childhood onward, a crisis it said was rooted in structural racism and exacerbated by a lack of access to healthy food and stable housing.
The report was compiled by Boston nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in collaboration with the National Indian Health Board, Society of American Indian Dentists and Southern Plains Tribal Health Board.
“The lack of representation is significant, because the importance of cultural competency cannot be overstated,” said Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest’s president and CEO. “There’s a level of connection and credibility.”