Author: John Girdwood

New Info-Graphics!

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Children’s Dental Health Project (CDHP) have created a new Info-Graphics!

There are shareable images for use on social media channels.

Start sharing!

• Image: Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Important (English)
• Image: Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Important (Spanish)
• PDF: Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Important (English)
• PDF: Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Important (Spanish)

More Info:

Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Important (English & Spanish)

Here is an abridge piece that details a similar effort in Arizona.  We’ve highlighted directly relevant portions below but encourage you to read the full article by clicking here.

2016: “Three Arizona community colleges have committed to student rotations at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and its Barrow Neurological Institute.”

• “Dental hygienists working in a hospital are primarily in VA hospitals with dental clinics on site”
• “A dental hygienist has the ability to collaborate with the health care team and coordinate patient appointments to improve patient outcomes.”
• “Under affiliated practice, you can bill for screening, assessment, etc.”

“Hospital-based dental hygiene was recently the topic of a presentation at a meeting of the American Dental Education Association. The presenters were Michele Carr, RDH, MA, associate professor at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, and Tammy Swecker, BSDH, MEd, associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry.”

(Source) “Moving dental hygienists from private practice out into more settings is a crucial part of transforming dental hygiene education. ‘It is upon each dental hygiene program to let students know the employment options and possibilities that exist,’ Carr said. ‘I think if dental hygienists can be employed in new settings, and if this grows, then dental hygiene education can focus on the opportunities available. Additionally, the popularity and efforts of IPE will assist in other professions’ recognizing the value of the profession of dental hygiene and the role dental hygienists can play on interprofessional teams.’”

“It’s a culture change,” DeVita continued. “Nurses and CNAs do not learn the extent to which oral care is important in their educational setting. They are taught that it makes a difference in VAP rates, but they’re not taught how to provide oral care, and the relationship between oral and systemic health is not emphasized enough.”

“I have discussed oral assessment and oral care education with a local nursing program for a quite a few years. Unfortunately, I have been told repeatedly there is so much material to cover in such a short amount of time, that it is difficult to find time for oral care education. As oral prevention specialists, we should continue to approach nursing education, as well as all medical professionals, with the evidence-based research. Our education, collaboration, confidence and persistence are critical to positively impact patient outcomes and save lives.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Proposal Submitted to 8th Annual Fall Colleague Development Days

Monday and Tuesday, August 20 and 21, 2018

TITLE: How We Used a Strategic Planning Toolkit and You Can, Too!

Detroit Mercy Dental launched the Michigan Initiative for Maternal and Infant Oral Health toward the end of 2017.  The project required hiring staff, budgeting, IRB approval for research, data collection, community-based dental education, patient care, teamwork, and customer service.  How did we accomplish all that and more in one year while planning for sustainability and carrying out the mission of the university?  Our toolkit helped us, and it can help you, too!

Participants will learn how to apply a strategic vision to any sized project

Participants will be able to use a new toolkit for planning their own projects

Participants will see a case study about how the toolkit was used 2017-2018

PRESENTATION FOCUS:

Faculty Development (P&T, Research, Scholarship, Pedagogy, Test-Writing, Post-Tenure, etc.)

Mission/Religion/Reflection/Service

Strategic Planning

PRIMARY AUDIENCES

Faculty

Staff

Administrators

DURATION

60 minutes

H. Luke Shaefer, a University of Michigan associate professor of social work and public policy and director of Poverty Solutions, helped create a new poverty map of Michigan (click here).  This map shows county level data in a snapshot so individuals can get a quick view of the economic climate in each county that we serve through the Michigan Initiative for Maternal and Infant Oral Health.

InterCare – Benton Harbor

We are excited to announce that InterCare has begun using the additional codes for data reporting through the Maternal and Infant Oral Health project!  The codes, outlined in our Clinical Protocol, include:

UDM1; UDM2; UDM3; UDMP and UDMC

These codes indicate a patient is enrolled in the program and her trimester, e.g. “UDM1” = 1st Trimester.  The “UDMC” code will count children served by the program.  If your site already has similar codes created, feel free to use existing codes, e.g. “1st Tri” and “Post.”

One additional care code should be created: REF.  This code indicates a patient was referred to a dentist during the visit.  For purposes of this program, we will only be counting aggregate sums of referrals.  Data for the previous month should be emailed to girdwojr@udmercy.edu by the second Tuesday of the subsequent month.

Thank you InterCare for being early adopters of these new codes!

From a colleague:

I recently started an extremely valuable network and hope you can be a part of it – even if it is simply to observe. It is a Facebook group called I Heart Mobile Dentistry. While most of the members are mobile clinicians or interested in learning more, it has become a VERY valuable network and resource in such a short period of time. I know of nothing else that brings this specific niche together in one place. There’s something special and unique about having those who are physically on the front lines providing direct care in non-traditional settings. It is my hope to get ALL interested parties involved across every discipline. The underlying current of the group is obvious: expanding access to dental care to underserved populations, improving oral health literacy, and health equity for all. The more we share with each other, the more we can make an impact.

You can join the Facebook group or learn more at the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/149060679179355/

The most recent California Dental Association Journal has the CAMBRA Caries Risk Assessment in it as well as a “Goals for Healthy Teeth (Age 5 and Younger)” sample self-management goals handout (adapted from J Calif Dent Assoc 2010 Oct; 38(10):759).  Check out pages 26-27 at this link:

https://www.cda.org/Portals/0/journal/journal_012018.pdf

The publication also has an ECC Chronic Disease Management Protocol page 24) as well as info on Silver Diamine Fluoride for dental caries management in children and adolescents, including special needs patients (page 45).

Check it all out!

John just joined the Medicaid | Medicare | CHIP Services Dental Association and came across some helpful resources for learning more about providing care to those patients who receive Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP.

Click here to learn more…

This site includes:

Insuring Bright Futures: Improving Access to Dental Care and Providing a Healthy Start for Children. Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health; March 27, 2007.

• Jack M. Chapman, M.D., President, Health Access Initiative
• Christine Farrell, R.D.H., M.P.A., Medicaid Policy Specialist, Medical Services Administration, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Stephen Corbin, D.D.S., M.P.H., Senior Vice President for Constituent Services and Support, Special Olympics International
• Burton L. Edelstein, D.D.S., M.P.H., Board Chair, Children’s Dental Health Project, Washington, DC, Professor of Dentistry and Health Policy, Columbia University
• Chris Koyanagi, Policy Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
• David M. Krol, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., Chair, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toledo College of Medicine
• Nicholas G. Mosca, D.D.S., University of Mississippi, School of Dentistry
• Kathleen Roth, D.D.S., President, American Dental Association
• Raymond C. Scheppach, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Governors Association

Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center (UGL) in Calumet, MI is seeking a registered dental hygienist (RDH) to perform work for an innovative new program managed by the Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry.

The project is simple: We place registered dental hygienists in OBGYN medical clinics to provide care for pregnant mothers, meeting patients where they are to improve access and outcomes.

We need YOU!

If you are a registered dental hygienist, Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center invites you to apply to support the project.  Here’s how:

1. Read the basic job description (click here)
2. Fill out the application (click here)
3. Email that application to Diane.Hertel@uglhealth.org

Where would you work?

56720 Calumet Avenue; Calumet, MI 49913

Here’s why YOU should apply!

This is an innovative new project that meets a need that otherwise would not be met for pregnant mothers, their children, and families.

• Do you want to improve oral health for mothers and children?
• Are you excited to help those who otherwise wouldn’t get care?

We are looking for somebody who cares about improving the lives of Michigan residents through educating patients on better dental hygiene and oral health habits, assessing patient needs, providing necessary care, and referring patients to the dentist.  If this sounds like you, please apply!

If you have any questions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact program manager Dr. John Girdwood by calling (774) 473-9663 or emailing girdwojr@udmercy.edu so that we can connect you with this opportunity.

Dr. John Girdwood, project manager for the Maternal and Infant Oral Health Initiative, contributed an article to the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Division Newsletter Fall/Winter 2017 (click here).

“SSSP is an interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students interested in the application of critical, scientific, and humanistic perspectives to the study of vital social problems.” (click here)

Dr. Girdwood last presented at the SSSP national conference in 2015 about his research project titled, “The Lives of Homeless Individuals Shown Through Visual Ethnography.”