DENTAL PUBLIC-HEALTH FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY - IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIALTY EDUCATION AND PRACTICE

A panel of public health practitioners sponsored by the Health Resourc es and Services Administration met December 6-8, 1994, to examine curr ent roles and responsibilities for dental public health workers and to recommend changes in education and training to meet challenges posed by an evolving health care system. Overall, at least the same number, if not more, dental public health personnel will be needed in the futu re. While some new roles were identified, the panel felt that only sma ll numbers of personnel will be needed to fill these new roles. Not al l of these roles necessarily require a dental degree. The panel felt t hat a need exists for more academicians for dental schools, schools of public health, dental public health residencies, and dental hygiene p rograms; oral epidemiologists and health services researchers; health educators; and specialists in utilization review/outcomes assessment, dental informatics, nutrition, program evaluation, and prevention. To meet these personnel needs: (1) dental public health residency program s should be structured to meet the educational needs of working public health dentists with MPH degrees through on-the-job residency program s; (2) the standards for advanced specialty education programs in dent al public health should be made sufficiently flexible to include denti sts who have advanced education and the requisite core public health c ourses; (3) flexible MPH degree programs must be available because of the rising debt of dental students and the decreased numbers of gradua ting dentists; (4) loan repayment should be available for dentists who have pursued public health training and are working in state or local health departments; and (5) standards far advanced education in denta l public health should be developed for dental hygienists.