Courses

Innovation in the Dental Care Delivery System for People with Developmental Disabilities (recorded webinar)

Date: May 10, 2022

Time: 6:00 PM PST

Course Description

This session will provide dental providers and their support personnel with innovative strategies using an upstream approach to address the long-standing challenge of getting access to dental care by people with Special Health Care Needs. It will explain the scope of work of Registered Dental Hygienists in Alternative Practices (RDHAP) in implementing these strategies and increase learners’ understanding of different dental workforce models. It will also demonstrate some successful innovative projects and their efforts to address the long-standing challenge of getting access to dental care by people with Special Health Care Needs.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn from a self-advocate’s experience accessing specialized dental care in San Francisco, California.
  • Understand different innovative strategies to improve access to people with Special Health Care Needs.
  • Understand RDHAP’s scope of work in California and how they can address the barriers to accessing specialized dental care in California.
  • Learn about some successful innovative projects and their efforts to address the long-standing challenge of getting access to dental care by people with Special Health Care Needs.
  • Learn about SARC’s dental program and how it addresses the complex needs of its consumers.

Dr. Ray Stewart

Dr. Stewart is the Professor and Chair of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of California in San Francisco. He has had a distinguished career in both academic dentistry and private practice. He has served in varying roles as educator, clinical provider, researcher, program director and division chair and private practitioner where he was the Founding Partner in a large multi-office Pediatric Dental Practice on the Central Coast of California. His more than 4 decades of experience as a Pediatric Dentist has fueled his passion and commitment to expanding access to oral health care for children with special health care needs (SHCN), including those children with medical complexities. He is currently a Principal Investigator for a HRSA training grant which combines interprofessional training in Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health. He has also participated in several statewide initiatives, developing courses designed to increase the capacity of general dentists to effectively serve young children, and to support the expansion of oral health into primary care medical settings. He is currently serving as Editor for a curated issue of the Journal of the California Dental Association on the subject of Dentistry for Patients with Special Health Care Needs scheduled for publication in June 2022. In addition to his role as Chair of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry at UCSF, he currently serves on several workgroups and task forces which are developing local and regional strategies to address the access to care problems faced by the SHCN population.

Henrietta Gutierrez & Jorden Gutierrez

Henrietta Gutierrez resides in Sacramento, California with her 2 sons. She has 2 beautiful sons, Jayden who is 9, and Jorden who is 8. Jorden was born with Down Syndrome. He is the light of their family. Being a single Mom of a kid with special needs hasn’t been easy but rewarding. Learning day by day by utilizing all available resources has been her safety net. Parenting didn’t come with a manual, but she strives to do what she can to make it easier on my family to ensure their needs are met. The beautiful family loves pets and spending quality time together.

Dr. Paul Glassman

Dr. Paul Glassman is the Associate Dean for Research and Community Engagement at the College of Dental Medicine at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, CA, and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni, School of Dentistry in San Francisco, CA. He has served on many national panels including the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee on Oral Health Access to Services which produced the IOM report on Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations. Dr. Glassman is a pioneer and has led the national movement to improve oral health using telehealth-connected teams and Virtual Dental Homes. Dr. Glassman has been prominent in advocacy efforts on a state and national level for health system reform to improve oral health systems for a wide variety of underserved groups.

Elena Francisco

Elena has practiced dental hygiene for more than 40 years in northern California. She has been on the dental hygiene faculty at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (Dugoni School) since 2005. She became licensed as a Registered Dental Hygienist in Alternative Practice (RDHAP) in 2005. As an RDHAP, she has treated patients of all ages, all with some special health care needs. She is currently the Program Director for RDHAP Program at the Dugoni School. Her passion is mentoring future clinicians to provide safe and evidence-based care to patients in the dentally underserved community.

Jean Calvo

Dr. Jean Marie Calvo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orofacial Sciences. Dr. Calvo earned her doctor of dental surgery degree at the UCSF School of Dentistry, where she also completed her specialty training in pediatric dentistry. Prior to doing her residency, she completed her Master’s of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a focus on social determinants of health. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she provides dental care to children and adolescents, with the goals of improving their oral health and making dental visits fun. She is devoted to increasing access to dental care for all children and is particularly passionate about providing care to underserved children, such as those with complex medical conditions or other special health care needs. This is also a subject of her research.

Candace Nicolson

Candace Niccolson, MEd, BSDH, RDH, RDHAP graduated cum laude from Oregon Institute of Technology with BS in Dental Hygiene and Concordia University with a Master of Education, Curriculum, and Instruction. She has 15 years of experience in dentistry with a focus on providing dental hygiene care for people with special needs. Candace is currently the Dental Services Specialist at San Andreas Regional Center (SARC), a private non-profit corporation that provides services and supports to people with developmental disabilities. She is responsible for managing and provisioning dental services ranging from general dentistry to sedation dentistry and RDHAP services for SARCs 18,000+ consumers. Candace also provides consultation with SARC staff and other dental professionals to ensure the dental resources offered to meet the consumer’s unique dental needs.