By Phylicia Wilde Dental Health Aide Therapist Mountain Village/ Saint Mary’s Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation

Phylicia Wilde Dental Health Aide Therapist

Eskimo Dancing

Harvesting Fish

Moose Hunting

Reasons Why I Chose to Become a Dental Health Aide Therapist The need for Dental Care Remote villages Infrequent visits by dentists Costly and difficult to travel from village to dentist Personal Experience Toothache at age 14, no providers in village Miss school, difficulty eating and sleeping Root Canal

DHAT Curriculum Year 1: basic health sciences, basic dental concepts, professional role development, introduction to clinic, typodont preclinical labs, patient and facilities management. Year 2: clinical year, expansion of concepts learned in first year, extractions, community projects, village dental rotations DHAT Students Kate Kohl, Trisha Patton dissecting a cow heart

Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation Main Hub is in Bethel, Alaska Serves 58 rural communities Area the size of the State of Oregon

Map of Subregional Clinic Areas

St. Mary’s Sub Regional Clinic Mountain Village Denali Clinic

Mountain Village Dental Clinic

Procedures Community Dental Outreach programs Exam, X-rays, caries risk, Treatment planning Fluoride therapy Diet and oral health education Sealants Simple cleanings Local Anesthesia Fillings Permanent or temporary Stainless steel crowns (primary teeth) Puplotomies (primary teeth) Uncomplicated extractions of teeth Emergency services To manage pain and infection Referrals That of a DHAT + Complex Fillings Crowns, Bridges, Implants Deep cleanings Root Canal Therapy Implants Complex extractions of teeth (Surgical) Dentures/partial dentures Prescribe medication Periodontal Surgery

DHAT and Supervising Dentist Dentist signs off on the DHAT’s individual standing orders Limits what the DHAT can do under general supervision. Consult on cases Work as team to address oral health needs in our Region Together can do more than the dentist could do alone. DHAT students Bernadette Charles and Tambre Guido with supervising dentist Edwin Allgair, 2010

Communities I Serve Pilot Station Mountain Village Marshall

Transportation

Before DHATs Long waiting lists >50% kids Operating Room referrals Lack of time for Community projects/Educating parents and patients of Oral Health

DHAT as Part of a Dentist Lead Team Has Led to Changes in My Community Less OR referrals Less emergency cases (toothaches, broken teeth) Less travel to Bethel for treatment More time for preventive/community- based projects Trisha Patton, DHAT student, taking x-rays on a patient

Community Projects 0-5 year old screenings Head Start visits School screenings Betadine/Fluoride applications Diabetic patients Prenatal patients Chelsea Shoemaker, Bonnie Johnson, Corrina Cadzow (DHAT students) providing fluoride varnish treatment for a Head Start student.

Thank you, Questions or Comments?