The region’s largest safety net dental provider has received a $2.16 million federal grant to help train its residents on how to better treat individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and certain medical conditions, like HIV and diabetes.
The award to Eastman Institute of Oral health will be used to create a community-based training model to improve practitioners’ dental skills and knowledge when treating this population.
“If you look at the amount of dental disease that this population has, it’s way more than the general population,” said Dr. Sangeeta Gajendra, chair of the department of community dentistry at the institute. “And of course, it’s because they are not able to access routine dental care.” …