Oral Health Nursing Education and Practice Program

Millions of Americans have unmet oral healthcare needs and profound oral health disparities persist in vulnerable and underserved populations, especially poor children, older adults, and racial and ethnic minorities. Nurses can play a significant role in improving the quality of oral health including access to care with appropriate education and training. The purpose of this paper is to describe New York University College of Nursing’s response to this challenge. The Oral Health Nursing Education and Practice (OHNEP) program is a national initiative aimed at preparing a nursing workforce with the competencies to prioritize oral disease prevention and health promotion, provide evidence-based oral healthcare in a variety of practice settings, and collaborate in interprofessional teams across the healthcare system. The overarching goal of this national initiative is to create an educational infrastructure for the nursing profession that advances nursing’s contribution to reducing oral health disparities across the lifespan. 1. Introduction Over a decade ago, the United States (US) Surgeon General’s landmark report, Oral Health in America, profiled the poor oral health status of the nation as a “silent epidemic” and linked oral health to overall health and well-being [1]. While overall improvements in oral health have been reported in the US population, millions of Americans have unmet needs related to oral health and profound oral health disparities persist in vulnerable and underserved populations, especially poor children, older adults, and racial and ethnic minorities [1–3]. For example, today, dental caries (tooth decay), an infectious and highly preventable disease, remains a common chronic disease across the life cycle and disproportionately impacts vulnerable and underserved groups [3]. One of the many barriers to quality oral healthcare includes a lack of attention to oral health by nondental health care professionals (e.g., nurses, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants) [1–3]. For example, oral health has not been a high priority for nurses in practice [4]. Another barrier is the inadequate education of nondental health care professionals in basic oral health [3]. To address these challenges, the Committee on Oral Health Access to Services recommended the development of a core set of oral health competencies and curricula for nondental health care professionals to enhance their role in oral health promotion and disease prevention [3]. In response to this recommendation, nursing programs will need to prepare graduates with core competencies