Access to Oral Health Care

Follow these steps to complete this assignment.

Step 1:

Please view the following documents with respect to access to oral care in the United States:

• Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General (Executive Summary)
  • Source: NIDCR.NIH.gov
• The Role of Dental Hygienists in Providing Access to Oral Health Care (NGA Papers PDF)
  • Source: Classic NGA.ORG
• Direct Access States in 2020 (PDF)
  • Source: ADHA.org

To complete Steps 2 & 3, use this Module 1 Assignment Template (DOCX).

Step 2:

The Surgeon General is attempting to improve the access to dental care for all patients. Dental care is costly for everyone, regardless of insurance benefits available. Answer the following two questions in complete sentences:

1. Do professionals have an ethical obligation to provide care to those who can’t afford to pay for it (pro-bono)?
2. If so, what care should they/we provide?

Step 3:

After you answer the above questions, develop an overall, general Philosophy Statement (not just from your current employment status) addressing the ethical obligations of the dentists and dental hygienists towards access to oral health care. For example, your statement may begin something like…..As a licensed dental hygiene health care professional, I believe…..

Next, describe a model on how you would implement your philosophy.

Here is an example:
“I will organize a dental hygiene free clinic to work in conjunction with a homeless shelter to provide oral health services………”

You will need to expand on this thought and describe what services would be provided, to whom they would be provided for, how many patients served, etc. When designing your philosophy statement and model, describe funding, manpower, supplies, facilities, and other resources. Provide as much detail as possible. Please do not use this example as your model, think of your own. Your example should be something you created, rather than something you or your office is currently doing or did in the past. Creativity and Originality count here! Do not include working with just private or corporate dental practices…..think large scale; think about working with/including other health care professionals (interprofessoinal health care) for your model.

View a Sample Idea (it is not perfect, but will give you an idea for this assignment) and the Module 1 Assignment Rubric below: