Dental Care Coordination for People with Developmental Disabilities (recorded webinar)

Course Description

This session will provide dental providers and their support personnel with an understanding of dental care coordination in SF Bay area for people with special health care needs. Learners will learn about the barriers to effectively implementing care coordination for this vulnerable population. Learners will also learn about the existing lists of dental providers used by Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP). You will hear about the dental care coordination system used by the Alameda County Public Health Department, Office of Dental Health. The session will highlight some real-time stories from a wonderful parent of on self-advocate’s accessing dental care journey.

Roxana M. Lopez & Jake Lopez

Roxana Lopez is a Bilingual Case Manager at Support for Families. In her role she support other families with children with disabilities through information and education. She is also a mother of 3 wonderful boys. One with Autism and my other son has a Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyslexia. Her youngest son suffers from anxiety when attending any medical appointment. As parents they also face their own challenges. She has Fibromyalgia and her husband was born with a condition called congenital deformity of bilateral legs. They have overcome many challenges for their kids to start receiving dental care. They understand they still have long way to go, but with the support of dental providers that are willing to serve families like theirs she is hopeful that one day kids and adults with special needs will have the care they deserve.

May Bosco

May Bosco is a registered dental hygienist in Alternative Practice. She been in dentistry for over 20 years and practicing dental hygiene for 15 years. May completed registered dental hygienist in alternative practice (RDHAP) program at University of Pacific, in 2010. Since then, she has provided services to a wide spectrum of patients including patients with dementia, and intellectual disability. May also provides oral health training as Child Health and Disability Program dental hygienist with Department of Public Health. Her both personal and professional goal is to improve access to oral care for everyone.

Dr. Shakalpi Pendurkar

Dr. Shakalpi Pendurkar is the current Dental Health Administrator for Alameda County Public Health Department’s Office of Dental Health. Prior to joining us, Dr. Pendurkar provided leadership on oral health in two Bay Area counties. For over 19 years, Dr. Pendurkar has worked as Lead Supervising Dentist at Gardner Health Services, an FQHC in the heart of downtown San Jose. She is committed to improving access to care and the overall health of her patients and has successfully advocated for the fluoridation of San Jose’s drinking water. She is the Founder and Chair of the Collaborative for Oral Health and Chief Advisor to Santa Clara County Oral Health Program. She is part of Santa Clara County’s Coalition Against Sugar-Sweetened Beverages.

Dr. Karen Raju

 Dr. Karen Raju is a foreign-trained dentist from India who has credentialed with a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her residency certificate in Dental Public Health from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is passionate about identifying and addressing vulnerable and underserved communities’ oral and public health problems across the lifespan through education, research, and service. Her research work includes a critical appraisal of the available evidence on pregnant women, people with special health care needs, and older adults’ oral and public health issues. She has published and presented her work both at national and International platforms.

**Please fill out the evaluation after you have completed the course in order to receive CDE credits.