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Putting the mouth back in the head: HEENT to HEENOT
Judith Haber1, Erin Hartnett, Kenneth Allen
1Judith Haber, Erin Hartnett, Donna Hallas, Caroline Dorsen, Madeleine Lloyd, Edwidge Thomas, and Dorothy Wholihan are with New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY. Julia Lange-Kessler is with Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, Washington, DC. Kenneth Allen is with New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY.
Abstract:
Improving oral health is a leading population health goal; however, curricula preparing health professionals have a dearth of oral health content and clinical experiences. We detail an educational and clinical innovation transitioning the traditional head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat (HEENT) examination to the addition of the teeth, gums, mucosa, tongue, and palate examination (HEENOT) for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of oral-systemic health. Many New York University nursing, dental, and medical faculty and students have been exposed to interprofessional oral health HEENOT classroom, simulation, and clinical experiences. This was associated with increased dental-primary care referrals. This innovation has potential to build interprofessional oral health workforce capacity that addresses a significant public health issue, increases oral health care access, and improves oral-systemic health across the lifespan.