title: Social work in dentistry: the CARES model for improving patient retention and access to care.
abstract: Social work programs in dental schools and dental clinics have been operated successfully since the 1940s, and have been documented as contributing to patients' access to care and to dental education. However, unlike medical social work, with which it has much in common, social work in dentistry has failed to become a standard feature of dental schools and clinics. Few of the social work initiatives that have been implemented in dental schools have survived after initial grant funding ran out, or the institutional supporters of the program moved on. The authors hope that the CARES program serves as a model for the successful development of other programs at the intersection of social work and dentistry to the benefit of both dental patients and providers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Community Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. jdoris@buffalo.edu
authors.forename: Joan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Doris
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Du Pont
authors.forename: Britt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holdaway
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003729:Dental Care; D003740:Dental Clinics; D004497:Education, Dental; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012575:Schools, Dental; D012947:Social Work / Q000193:education; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014186:Transportation; D014481:United States