Delta Dental Institute has officially announced a grant worth $980,000 for the newest class of awardees of the Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund. In case you weren’t aware, Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund happens to be the first national fund aimed at encouraging underrepresented school-aged children to pursue a career in oral health.
Anyway, according to certain reports, the promised grant will be distributed among six awardees i.e. American Dental Education Association, Diversity in Dentistry Mentorships, Inc., NAF, National Dental Association, Planet Smilez, Inc., and the Society of American Indian Dentists.
Talk about each one a slightly deeper level; we begin from American Dental Education Association, who made the cut largely because of its Pathways to Smiles program. You see, this particular program has been designed to create an immersive training experience for underrepresented high-school students, helping them see what it’s like to be an oral health professional. As for the scope of newly-raised funds here, they will be used to spread the curriculum across underserved communities and regions where access to oral health education and resources may be limited.
The next recipient in line would be Diversity in Dentistry Mentorships, Inc., an organization best known for its Diversify Dentistry Youth Summit which aims to inspire students to envision themselves as future dentists, and it does that by offering them mentorships throughout their educational journey. Basically, by engaging underrepresented students early, the program hopes to cultivate a more equitable and accessible oral healthcare workforce, well equipped to serve the needs of underserved communities.
“Delta Dental is committed to supporting the next generation of diverse oral health professionals. We are proud to announce our second class of Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund awardees. These programs provide school-aged children from underrepresented communities with access to mentors and innovative educational opportunities that pave the way toward careers in oral health,” said James W. Hutchison, President & CEO of Delta Dental Plans Association. “It is inspiring to see the interest and excitement these programs are creating. We look forward to continuing to support solutions that advance the oral health workforce.”
Third recipient of Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund’s would be NAF. NAF’s case was made, by and large, by its Promoting Oral Health Pathways program, a part of its Academy of Life Sciences curriculum. Markedly enough, this particular program presents oral health as an exciting, viable career path for school-aged children. Complimenting the same is NAF’s new, 100% free online platform, which makes it possible for students to work with experts in the field to build their oral health skills and awareness of career opportunities.
Joining the mix up next is National Dental Association, who earned the grant in question, thanks to its S.M.I.L.E. (Student Mentoring with Immersive Learning and Enrichment Healthcare Pathway Program) initiative. The S.M.I.L.E program has its utility rooted in connecting diverse group of high school students with an oral health mentor, while simultaneously providing an immersive week-long camp at historically black colleges, and universities to introduce students to careers in oral health.
Among the remaining two awardees, there is Planet Smilez, Inc., organization behind the Discovering Dentistry Symposium, focused on inspiring students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in oral health and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. As for how it does that, the answer includes an immersive event centered on the connection between oral and systemic health, career paths in oral healthcare, and the daily routines of dental professionals.
Rounding up highlights is the Society of American Indian Dentists, who leverages an initiative called Telling the Story of a Path to Dentistry: Connecting American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Dentists with AI/AN Youth to link AI/AN dentists serving as volunteer oral health ambassadors with Native high school students and get the former to share their story about becoming a dentist and make more Native youth to consider a career in dentistry.