Northwest/Alaska Center to Reduce Oral Health Disparity

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This proposal is in response to RFD DE-99-003 to establish the Northwest and Alaska Center for Oral Health Disparity for research to reduce oral health disparities in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. It is proposed that the Center develop basic and applied knowledge that addresses the needs of poor, minority, and rural children and their caretakers, utilizing approaches that go beyond the traditional strategies from dental public health that have not found success in these populations. While the research in the proposed center may involve traditional dental personnel, it also stresses the roles of pediatricians, mothers as well as children; and preventive agents beyond fluorides. Participants include Alaska Natives, Native Americans from the Yakima Indian Nation, Hispanics from the agricultural areas of Washington, African Americans and Hispanics from the local military reservations, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders served by urban hospitals as well as rural and low-income Whites. We propose to accomplish this goal through five specific aims: (1) To address the needs of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska by conducting clinical research to evaluate the efficacy of non- traditional interventions to prevent and treat oral disease in children and their caretakers; (2) To develop community-based research that translates existing knowledge and new information regarding children and their caretakers into new technologies and interventions that hold promise for reducing disparities in these high risk populations; (3) To expand health science education and research training opportunities for minority populations in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska by collaborations with key minority educational and health serving institutions in the region; (4) To conduct basic research to further understand the role of host defenses and genetic bases for caries and periodontal disease affect underserved populations as well as to probe the biologic basis for antibacterial that change disease susceptibility; and (5) To increase the impact of the center beyond the projects included in this proposal by recruiting investigators and students from minority institutions in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska and prioritizing and encouraging pilot and center-affiliated studies in which they are involved. The collaborating institutions and partners are Heritage College (Hispanic and Native American-serving institution sited on the Yakima Indian Nation), Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium/Yukon-Kuskokwim Native Health Corporation, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board/Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, Washington Dental Service an Foundation (major private dental insurer); and Medical Assistance Administration (Medicaid agency for Washington State).