Clinical Associate Professior university of Maryland School of Dentistry
Disclosure(s):
Lisa E. Bress, RDH, MS: No financial relationships to disclose
Description: The University of Maryland School of Dentistry assembled a state-wide Prenatal Postpartum Advisory Board (PPAB) that includes four moms with lived experience and oral and prenatal health partners representing academia, public health, state organizations, and industry to address barriers to oral healthcare access and jumpstart state legislative advances concerning Medicaid dental benefits. The over-arching goal of this initiative is to increase oral health equity and quality of life for underserved prenatal/ postpartum women and their children. A smaller collaborative team initiated the project and served as the Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) responsible for the administrative and operational support for this project. The journey began with a meticulous process to strategically select members for this innovative work group. Once assembled, a professional facilitation firm guided members through intensive equity training that included implicit bias exercises and oral health education in plain jargon-free language. Equity training was integrated into all meetings and pre and post-meeting activities. Program goals were central to meeting agendas while engaging members in enjoyable relationship building exercises. A unified diverse group of 13 stakeholders convened for six PPAB meetings. Trusting relationships were established between members, key challenges related to oral health care access were identified, personal stories highlighting the lack of integration of oral health into prenatal health care were documented and strategies to address challenges were developed. As a result, a diverse group of individuals was transformed into a unified results-oriented team of champions that makes decisions with a shared voice in a judgement-free environment.
Source of Funding:: CareQuest for Oral Health Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals
