NIIOH and its partners are now working with primary care clinicians including dental professionals, physicians, PAs, NPs, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, social workers, and community health workers to embed oral health and interprofessional practice competencies across health professional education and practice.
- The ultimate goal is to equip the entire health workforce with the knowledge and skills required for integrated care models where oral health is considered an essential component of whole person care.
- Using a number of strategic levers to activate change, we promote a shared focus on the most critical needs and issues of our stakeholders including educators, clinicians, community workforce, policymakers, researchers or payors. This core focus helps us determine what is most needed and hot to support innovative solutions to today’s oral health problems.
- We support national and state organizations, educators, clinicians, policy makers, researchers, payors, and others to implement strategies that improve oral health equity.
NIIOH Core Strategies
- Cultivate champions for oral health integration;
- Facilitate interprofessional learning and agreement to ready dental and primary care workforce to work together;
- Develop tools and resources that bridge understanding, knowledge and skills across medicine and dentistry; and
- Support, connect and align partner efforts to integrate oral health into education and practice.
Answering the Call: Joining the Fight for Oral Health