title: A New Integrated Oral Health and Primary Care Education Program in the Dental Student Clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to describe the implementation of a new program incorporating primary care education into a predoctoral dental curriculum in the StudentTeaching Clinic at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) using the primary care rotations for students in a dental setting as a platform for change in our approach to patient care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey of perspectives on the need for primary care medicine in dental education was distributed to all the deans of Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited dental schools in the continental United States for a total of 65 eligible schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 27 responses from the dental school deans, a majority of dental schools already had interprofessional collaborative practices at their schools, with collaborations with physicians and nurse practitioners being most common. Ninety-six percent of responders were supportive of integrating oral health and primary care to improve patient care and regarded primary care training for dental students as a potential method of improving patient care in dental education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As patient care involves multidisciplinary and interprofessional environments with a wide array of health care providers, curricular directions for dental school should explore an education model that incorporates the concepts of primary care medicine.
authors.forename: Sang E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Fidencio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saldana
authors.forename: R Bruce
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Donoff
mesh_terms: D001900:Boston; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D003729:Dental Care; D003740:Dental Clinics; D004497:Education, Dental; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D017145:Models, Educational; D009909:Oral Health; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011320:Primary Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D012575:Schools, Dental; D013335:Students, Dental