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|  DENTEX is an Alaska based program that educates dental health aide therapists to provide dental care to Alaska Native communities. The program is a collaboration between the Alaska Native Health Consortium and the University of Washington School of Medicine Physician Assistant Training Program, MEDEX Northwest. |
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|  Launched in 2007 as a collaborative effort between the Alaska Native Tribal Health Center and the University of Washington, DENTEX was developed to meet the oral health needs of native Alaskan people across 200 remote villages. |
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|  In February, staff reflected on the last four years as we wrote our report narrative for WK Kellogg Foundation. We realized that in spite of some extreme setbacks, Alaska DHAT has accomplished its objectives, and then some: in villages currently served by DHATs, over 35,000 more people in rural Alaska now have access to oral healthcare. |
Angelica AfcanEmmonak, AK
Sponsored by the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation
“Growing up I remember the dentist traveling to our town once or twice a year. It would be announced on the VHF and their schedule would be booked immediately. Those who were unable to schedule were forced to wait until the next trip the dentist made into town. I do not remember a face or a name of any dentists that I saw as a child. To me, a dentist was a man with a mask and no name. I would like to be part of a revolution that creates access to good dental care at home; a revolution that gives a face and a name to the person providing dental care.”
First year students take up residence in Anchorage to begin their studies as Dental Health Aide Therapists. Often this means leaving families and communities behind to begin a training program that includes one year of classroom instruction in oral health principles and practices. Students are immersed in the didactic material, but also perform fillings on mannequins as patients. They also see real patients, both child and adult, providing them with diagnostic and preventive services.
