H-001 - Integrating a Social Worker in Predoctoral Clinic for Student-Patient Success

Dental students require patient experiences to reach competency for practice. Patients must be able to access and receive dental treatment. Barriers exist that negatively impact care progress and student experiences. Identifying and reducing barriers enables critical clinical skills and receipt of dental treatment.


Social Workers (SW) have unique skills to reduce barriers. In one year, a North American dental school’s social worker involvement, led to 41% of patient referrals proceeding with dental treatment. This interactive seminar will present evidence-based patient barriers, reduction strategies, and strategies to facilitate student clinical progress through integration of a social worker on the clinic team.