Oral Health

Hawaii Community Health Center Dentistry Residency

Lutheran Medical Center, based in Brooklyn, New York, pioneered the concept that Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program (AEGD) can occur in community health centers.

Residents receive their advance clinical training at community health centers, group practices, and hospitals affiliated with this program, not at dental schools. The centers provide the surrounding communities with access to a full range of medical and dental services because they are often multi-specialty, interdisciplinary group practices. Residents participate in the core curriculum, and interactive videoteleconferencing technology links all of the regions to the weekly lectures and seminars.

The Hawaii region currently has 4 training sites, all fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association. Hawaii’s program accommodates nine resident positions.

Third and fourth year dental students are encouraged to enroll in the Pass/Match post graduate selection system.

For more information, please email Dr. Samuel Ishimura, Assistant Director of Education and Hawaii regional coordinator at: samishimura@yahoo.com

Oral Health Task Force

The Hawaiian Islands Oral Health Task Force (HIOHTF) is a group of concerned individuals and organizations whose goal is to improve the oral health status of Hawaii. This facilitated group was convened in the spring of 2002 by the Department of Health and includes over forty oral health stakeholders from the Department of Eucation, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Hawaii Dental Association, Hawaii Dental Service, Hawaii Dental Hygienists' Association, Hawaii Medical Services Association, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hawaii Rural Health Association, neighbor island oral health task forces, and others.
HIOHTF has accomplished many goals in the past two years. The group researched and wrote the report, "2-4-6-8 Action Plan...The First Steps" which outlined two priorities, four goals, six agreements, and eight recommendations for improving oral health in Hawaii.

In the 2003-04 legislative session the group wrote and successfully lobbied for the Community Service License bill, which would allow dentists and dental hygienists with licenses from other states to work in Hawaii's safety net clinics, including community health centers and Native Hawaiian Health Care centers. The bill was signed by Governor Lingle in July 2004.

Currently, the HIOHTF is working on implementing the recommendations and objectives outlined in the 2-4-6-8 plan.