PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Susan I. Duley
AU  - Peter G. Fitzpatrick
AU  - Ximena Zornosa
AU  - W. Gail Barnes
TI  - A Center for Oral Health Promotion: Establishing an Inter–Professional Paradigm for Dental Hygiene, Health Care Management and Nursing Education
DP  - 2012 Mar 01
TA  - American Dental Hygienists Association
PG  - 63--70
VI  - 86
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/86/2/63.short
4100  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/86/2/63.full
SO  - J Dent Hyg2012 Mar 01; 86
AB  - Purpose: The need for education about oral health conditions has been discussed in recent years. Current research has shown correlations between oral and systemic disease. Disease entities have been connected to bacteremia and inflammatory processes, both of which can result from oral pathologies. Professionals need to be educated about these connections and advised how, by maintaining proper oral health, they may avoid systemic consequences. Students in dental hygiene, health care management and nursing programs can play a vital role in this education. By jointly creating and operating an educational Center for Oral Health Promotion, they can better understand each other's professions. This will facilitate developing the skill set to reach out to the underserved and establish protocols to provide health literacy and care at affordable rates. They can also better appreciate the interconnections between health care delivery and its management while gaining skills needed to work in an inter–professional setting. A Center for Oral Health Promotion would expand services typically offered in dental hygiene educational settings as well as expand dental hygiene, nursing and health care management student experiences.