DENTAL HEALTH AIDE PROGRAM
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Dental Health Aide (DHA) Program is to connect tribal communities with innovative approaches to address AI/AN oral health disparities, to remove barriers impeding the creation of efficient, high quality, modern dental teams and to provide opportunities for AI/AN people to become oral health providers. There is a tremendous opportunity to increase access to oral health care and improve oral health outcomes by training and employing Dental Health Aides (DHAs) and Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs). DHATs are highly-trained primary oral health care providers. Part of a dentist-led team, they have a narrow scope of practice, focusing on routine and preventive services. They are recruited from their communities and go back to serve their communities. Tribes deserve the reliable, culturally relevant care that DHAs and DHATs offer. The Native Dental Therapy Initiative and the Dental Health Aide Program are working to ensure this solution is available to all Tribes in the Portland Area.
We changed our name!
Did the Native Dental Therapy Initiative change its name?
The Native Dental Therapy Initiative (NDTI) is alive and strong! NDTI work now sits under the broader Dental Health Aide Program, which works to advance all types of dental health aides (DHAs), including Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs, also known as Dental Therapists when working outside the context of the Community Health Aide Program (CHAP). Please see our dental therapy links for more information about DHAT/DT progress in the Portland Area. Please also contact us and see our DHA pages to learn more about all types of DHAs!
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Meet the Dental Therapists working for tribal communities across the Pacific Northwest.
Click the learn more button below to read about the communities they come from and the communities they currently serve.
