Project 461025

Access to oral health services is one of the many areas of health care inequality evident in the Canadian health care system. Using a novel social entrepreneurial model, Nation's Dental (ND) has established an In-School Oral Health Program which addresses oral healthcare inequalities among priority schoolchildren and adolescents. As a social enterprise, the provision of services utilizes established business principles where operations and surpluses are redirected to the pursuit of social justice and oral health equity. While there is evidence to support oral public health interventions, there are limited studies evaluating the effectiveness of alternative service models in the Canadian context. Without addressing the root causes of oral health inequities, clinical interventions alone are insufficient. Optimal development of a preventive oral healthcare program requires multidisciplinary research and interdisciplinary evaluation. We have established an emerging collaborative team by strategically assembling clinical and research experts, community leaders/members, educators, government, non-governmental organizations, and other ND stakeholders that include clients and families. This team engages in activities focused on identifying strategies to improve clinical interventions, policy, and programming to evoke the changes needed to effectively improve oral healthcare inequities among priority schoolchildren and adolescents. We feel it is prudent to formalize our engagement, foster collaboration, and develop a robust strategic plan to research and examine the sustainable delivery of oral health intervention for priority schoolchildren and adolescents offered through the ND In-School Oral Health Program.