The National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has awarded the Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health with a grant to support its first symposium in global oral health. The symposium takes place July 31 on the University of Washington campus.
Global inequalities in the distribution of and access to care for oral diseases represent unresolved societal burdens. Problems to be addressed in the symposium include:
- Fundamental gaps in knowledge and understanding of the multifactorial factors related to oral health.
- Lack of priorities developed with the active participation of the communities in need.
- Limited research in implementation and integration sciences of oral health.
The symposium, titled “Interprofessional Health Care: Adding Oral Health to Interdisciplinary Global Health Projects Worldwide,” aims to provide the appropriate setting for global oral health research beyond focusing solely on oral health. The symposium’s objectives are to:
- Propose strategies to integrate oral and craniofacial research in interdisciplinary collaborations by showcasing past and current worldwide research projects.
- Generate new opportunities for collaboration in global oral health by targeting participation of colleagues beyond dentistry.
- Enhance the DeRouen Center’s existing collaborations by creating a five-year plan for its current lines of research in Thailand, Kenya, Peru, and Seattle.
- Create a pipeline of future leaders in global oral health research by exposing current dental pre-, post-doc students and fellows to global health, and exposing current general pre-, post-doc students and fellows to oral and craniofacial research.