Dental pre-doctoral student perceptions about serious mental illness: Concerns and role clarification.

Purpose/objectives: Little is understood about dental student perspectives providing care to people with serious mental illness (SMI), a population with significant oral health disparities. This study explored student perceptions, questions and beliefs about people with SMI using the Social Ecological Model as a framework to better understand perspectives and identify potential educational needs in dental medicine curricula for providing care to this population.

Methods: Survey data was collected in spring of 2021 from predoctoral dental students (n = 126) enrolled in a required course at a mid-Atlantic university.

The Effects of Oral Health Instruction, and the Use of a Battery-Operated Toothbrush on Oral Health of Persons with Serious Mental Illness: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

People with a diagnosis of serious mental illness (SMI) have a greater incidence of poorer oral health as compared to the general population. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effect that a combination of the use of a battery-operated toothbrush and a related educational intervention may have on the oral health of individuals with serious mental illness. Key findings include that the battery-operated toothbrush resulted in a significant improvement in the mean change in gingival index, a common indicator of oral health.

Developing a Relevant Taxonomy to Assess Dental School Clinic Patient Complaints.

The aims of this study were to categorize and analyze the most frequent patient complaints at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) clinic in an effort to identify areas in need of improvement. A retrospective review of patient complaints reported to the RSDM Office for Clinical Affairs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015 was conducted. A total of 148 unduplicated patients were selected for evaluation because they made at least one official complaint.

Head Start Oral Health Assessment.

Purpose: A Head Start program located in Paterson, New Jersey considered establishing a school-based dental clinic to address unmet oral health needs such as access to care and the need for restorative treatment. The purpose of this study was to establish the oral health status of Head Start children, their treatment needs, and parents' interest and willingness to utilize a school-based dental clinic.

Description: School-based dental care has been used to address access to care issues, particularly among children who live in underserved areas.

Dental students' HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and intentions: impact of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration's community-based dental partnership program.

Access to oral health care for vulnerable populations is one of the concerns addressed by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau's Community-Based Dental Partnership Program (CBDPP).

Designing and implementing a school-based dental program for students with developmental disabilities.

Students with developmental disabilities in Atlantic County Special Services School District (ACSSSD) receive on-site dental care through a program created by UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School (NJDS). The program's goal was to coordinate dental school resources with those of a school district, county agencies and the Delta Dental Foundation to provide quality dental services to the students, aged 3-21 years. The University developed a Needs Assessment Survey and distributed 450 surveys to the students' parent/guardian(s).