New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has been awarded a five-year, $2.5M Health Resources and Service Administration training grant for public health pediatric dentistry. The award allows NYUCD to begin building a public health track at NYUCD through a collaboration of the NYU Departments of Epidemiology & Health Promotion and Pediatric Dentistry and the NYU College of Global Public Health (CGPH).

The grant provides infrastructure to support community outreach to NYC public schools, curriculum redesign of the PG Clinical Trials program, public health training for pediatric dentists interested in obtaining an MPH, and partial stipends for pediatric dentists from underserved populations.

“This funding will enable NYUCD to fulfill its mission of providing needed preventive dental care to children and their families regardless of the ability to pay for services,” said Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, NYU College of Dentistry and College of Global Public Health and Inaugural Editor Emerita, American Journal of Public Health.

This training opportunity represents a valued collaboration between NYUCD and the CGPH to ensure that dentists have the skills needed to lead interprofessional teams in providing preventive services to New York City school children.

With this new training opportunity, NYUCD will be able to bring dental care to children in schools, rather than requiring parents to bring children to often inaccessible dental offices, and advance oral health equity in New York City.

Mary Northridge, PhD, MPH, associate professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, is the principal investigator. The project faculty are: Drs. Bernadette Boden-Albala, Courtney Chinn, Bianca Dearing, Amr Moursi, Richard Niederman, and Ryan Ruff.