All in for Integration: Oral Health in Interprofessional Education and Training

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Significant oral health care access inequities persist, disproportionately affecting minoritized and marginalized groups.
• Primary health care is more accessible than dental services, highlighting a potential role for primary care providers in addressing oral health needs.
• A lack of standardized curricula hinders the integration of oral health into primary care training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop recommendations for integrating oral health into primary care training programs.
• To address the gap in oral health care access through enhanced primary care education.
• To inform primary care educators and policymakers on best practices for oral health integration.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 5 years of research from the Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health (CIPCOH).
• Development of broad recommendations for training programs across the primary care spectrum.
• Focus on identifying and promoting promising and/or best practices in oral health integration.

Main Results:

• Recommendations include supporting champion training programs.
• Emphasis on incorporating oral health into interprofessional standards.
• Proposal for establishing a curricular and evaluation framework for oral health integration.

Conclusions:

• Primary care educators and policymakers can utilize these recommendations to improve oral health integration.
• Implementing these strategies will help ensure a competent primary care workforce equipped to address oral health.
• Enhanced integration aims to reduce oral health disparities and improve patient outcomes.