Lasting Impressions | Fall 2015

6 © NSU LASTING IMPRESSIONS and lower costs’ for patients. It’s the new paradigm in public health where all services are provided—mental health, dental, obstetrics, pediatrics. I can offer the opportunity to work in relative autonomy, to collaborate in a group setting, but mostly build a practice that serves a community and builds a relationship with that community,” McKenzie’s letter states. She then reads the prospective candidates response. “It is indeed the intangibles that made my decision easier. I will be joining the team this year, and I’m excited to take the next step in my development.” STARTING YOUNG The American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) states that “the prevention of early childhood oral diseases requires an interdisciplinary approach, given the present low rate of dental attendance in early childhood, and that such prevention should commence in the health care networks that already service children.” “It is well known that oral diseases have a direct and dev- astating effect on the health of children and have a serious impact on children’s readiness for school and their ability to succeed,” said Mascarenhas. NSU’s College of Dental Medicine is at the forefront of advancing preventive programs, especially in South Florida schools. A $55,000 grant from the Dr. John T. Macdonald Founda- tion that funds projects or programs related to the health needs of the residents of Miami-Dade County was renewed with the College of Dental Medicine for the fourth year. “This was the first grant we received, and it was recognition by the foundation that oral health is an issue in schools in Miami- Dade County. The award allows us to provide preventive dental services and oral hygiene instruction to underserved and uninsured elementary school students in the North Miami Beach area,” said Mascarenhas. Smiles Across America® (SAA), an Oral Health America (OHA) program, is providing $25,000 for the College of Dental Medicine to supply preventive services to children enrolled in the North Miami School District. There is also a new grant in the amount of $300,000 from The Children’s Trust in Miami-Dade County to train school nurses on how to perform oral health screenings for children in Miami-Dade County schools. “They do vision screenings, BMI screenings, and now we will instruct them on how to perform oral health screenings. It won’t be to diagnose, but to refer children in need of treatment to a dentist,” said Mascarenhas. They will also be trained to provide oral health counseling and administer a fluoride varnish application. The CDM’s Give Kids A Smile program is nationally recognized. (See story on page 19.) Mascarenas believes this training offers a window into a bigger picture for the future of the interdisciplinary practice of dentistry and public health. “There’s more opportunity to screen for chronic diseases in the dental office with the new tools we have. Family care physicians can hire hygienists, and we can hire nurses and put them in our big clinics,’’ she said. “We can help med- icine and engage in chronic disease man- agement—diabetes and hypertension, for instance—in the dental office.” Diane Ede-Nichols, D.M.D., M.H.L., M.P.H., said a new name change in her department reflects the importance of public health education in dentistry. She’s chair of the Community Dentistry and Public Health Sciences for the College of Dental Medicine. Ede-Nichols, who is also director of the Institute for Special Needs Dentistry, received her M.P.H. from NSU in 2010. I do want people to know that the achievement of getting the [M.P.H.] degree is great, but everyone can contribute at some level, even without the degree,” she said. As a professional in the area of public health dentistry for most of her career, she found that working on the master of public health degree had numerous benefits. “It validated everything I had already done, but it also helped me to understand the principles and the concepts and to understand that there is a network of people in public health that you can rely on and go to—people out there doing similar things and confirming what you’re doing,” Ede-Nichols said. The interdisciplinary aspect of the Master of Public Health program added yet another element of learning for Evren Kilinc, D.D.S., Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Dental Medicine’s Department of Cariology and Restorative Dentistry. Kilinc will complete her M.P.H. in summer of 2016. “The education covers everything from large-scale crisis prevention to how to create an overall screening activity. It gives insight into all of the coordination that goes into even the smallest project, which requires so many different pro- fessional disciplines with different expertise,” Kilinc said. “Once you start taking these courses, no matter where you are in your career, it’s almost like putting a different hat on. It helps you to see the whole picture and, without a doubt, changes your view of everything.” u “Dentistry is moving away from focusing on the individual being treated and more on working with the collective community.”