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Community Based Dental Education Development Day

by Rodney Tanaka

February 29, 2016

Read 2 mins

Western University of Health Sciences, College of Dental Medicine (WesternU CDM), 6th Annual Community Based Dental Education (CBDE) Development Day

WesternU College of Dental Medicine Adjunct Faculty and dental staff from across California met on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 on the campus of WesternU for the 6th Annual Community Based Dental Education (CBDE) Development Day. This event is offered every year for faculty and staff from organizations affiliated with WesternU, within the CBDE Network. DMD students in their second, third, and fourth year rotate at these sites, and the CBDE Development Day is designed to offer the current dental concepts as Continuing Education and calibrate faculty across a wide geographic area.

Participants in the event included Dentists, Dental Residents, Registered Dental Hygienists, and Registered Dental Assistants from across the CBDE Network, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Nonprofit Community Clinics, Indian Health Services Clinics, and School Based Oral Health Centers. Participants represented the following organizations this year:

  • AIDS Project Los Angeles
  • Community Health Centers of the Central Coast
  • East Valley Community Health Center
  • Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County
  • John Wesley Community Health Institute, Inc.
  • Los Angeles Christian Health Center
  • Riverside Free Clinic
  • Toiyabe Indian Health Project, Inc.
  • We Care Dental
  • WesternU First 5 LA Children’s Dental Care Project (CDCP)

Faculty and staff had time to network, discuss their experiences working with dental students, and ask questions of WesternU CDM Leadership, Faculty, and Staff. The day began with a welcome from Dr. Steven Friedrichsen, Dean of the College of Dental Medicine, including a personally signed certificate of appreciation for each faculty member in attendance. Dr. David Lazarchik presented on Diet Reflux and Erosion and Dr. Keith Boyer on Pulpal Regeneration. Of special note, Dr. Krystle Rapisura, graduate of WesternU’s DMD class of 2013, presented on Space Maintenance to the group. Dr. Rapisura herself has given back to the university and community in her faculty position working at the Jeff Seymour Family Center, School Based Oral Health Center in El Monte, CA, through funding provided to WesternU CDM by the California Community Foundation.

Dr. Marisa Watanabe presented on Quality Improvement Drivers to Decrease New Cavitations in Pediatric Patients using examples of her work with Caries Management by Risk Assessment in the First 5 LA CDCP and DentaQuest Early Childhood Caries and Dental Caries Management Collaborative. Dr. Jenny Tjahjono and Dr. Bertha Alarcon (Dentists), Dr. Jasmine Yumori (Optometrist), and Dr. Janelle Green (Podiatrist) presented on Care for Diabetic Patients through Interprofessional Collaborative Practice.

The sessions concluded with a presentation on Medical Emergencies Management in the Community Based Dental Clinic Setting by Dr. Diana Folmsbee. Dr. Robert Hasel led an interactive classroom experience “flipped classroom” on Virtual Learning, followed by an in-person tour of the J and K Virtual Reality Learning Center. At the conclusion of the event one faculty noted, “The Virtual Learning Center is top notch, state-of-the-art. Our students are getting such a good education… they are very well trained and know how to take care of the community.”

-from the College of Dental Medicine

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