A new program in partnership with Skagit Valley College will help train dental therapists for communities in need, especially American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
The partnership, with includes the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, will launch the first Dental Therapy Education Program in Washington state, according to a press release.
dəxʷx̌ayəbus-Dental Therapy Education Program at the college is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, the first education program of its kind to received accreditation in the lower 48 states. The program is located at the college and at the tribe’s dental clinic. It features a three-year curriculum and a focus on student-centered teaching and learning.
“We are very excited to receive accreditation and begin offering the program this fall,” Tom Keegan, SVC president, said in a press release. “Graduates will help provide much needed high-quality dental care to tribal communities across the country. This has been a truly collaborative effort inspired by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and many others. It has required vision, innovation, persistence, technical expertise, and a commitment to serve others.”
The Swinomish Tribal Chairman Steve Edwards agreed.
“We are very pleased and thankful that the dəxʷx̌ayəbus-Dental Therapy Program has now received accreditation,” he said in a press release. “Swinomish and SVC staff have worked for years to develop this important training program and then to take the steps necessary for accreditation. Dental therapists bring culturally appropriate oral health care to Native communities. There is an unmet need for dental therapists, and now this training program will make dental therapy training available here in Washington, so students won’t have to move far from home to learn these valuable skills.”
The name of the program, dəxʷx̌ayəbus (pronounced as dahf-hi-ya-buus), is a Lushootseed phrase that means place of smiles. The Lushootseed language is used by many Salish coast tribes.
Several partners made the program possible, including Swinomish Tribal Senate, departmental leadership and community members; SVC and supporting departments; worldwide dental therapy advocates; Washington Dental Therapy Education Advisory Committee; Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board; ARCORA; Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies; Kellogg Foundation; and the National Indian Health Board.
“We could not have more supportive partners,” said Rachael Hogan, Swinomish Dental Clinic director and director/chair of the program. “We are grateful to each of them for their continued persistence, guidance, and optimism for our vision of bringing holistic, patient-centered, culturally responsive, and clinically excellent oral health care to underserved and underrepresented communities.”
For information, visit: skagit.edu/dentaltherapy.
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