CHICAGO--In the continuing mission to empower people with intellectual disabilities to reach their full potential, the Academy of General Dentistry Foundation has announced that it has partnered with Special Olympics to help identify providers for primary dental care for Special Olympics athletes.
CHICAGO--In the continuing mission to empower people with intellectual disabilities to reach their full potential, the Academy of General Dentistry Foundation has announced that it has partnered with Special Olympics to help identify providers for primary dental care for Special Olympics athletes.
AGD Foundation President, Julie A. Barna, DMD, MAGD and Stephen Corbin, DDS, senior vice president of constituent services and support for Special Olympics, engineered the partnership in which the AGD Foundation will encourage interested AGD members and AGD Foundation supporters to identify themselves as willing to provide primary dental care to Special Olympics athletes and encourage local AGD constituents to work with Special Olympics Programs to identify sources of primary dental care for Special Olympics athletes.
AGD Foundation President, Julie A. Barna, DMD, MAGD and Stephen Corbin, DDS, senior vice president of constituent services and support for Special Olympics, engineered the partnership in which the AGD Foundation will encourage interested AGD members and AGD Foundation supporters to identify themselves as willing to provide primary dental care to Special Olympics athletes and encourage local AGD constituents to work with Special Olympics Programs to identify sources of primary dental care for Special Olympics athletes.
"Unfortunately when physicians treat a child or an adult with a disability, dental care may have a lower priority in the face of other health problems," says Dr. Barna.
"Unfortunately when physicians treat a child or an adult with a disability, dental care may have a lower priority in the face of other health problems," says Dr. Barna.
"This alliance was created because our organizations want to work together to make it easier for family members to find more general dentists who can provide dental care for persons with disabilities. Although children and adults may have a disability or a disabling condition, they can still take care of their teeth or rely on their family members for assistance."
"This alliance was created because our organizations want to work together to make it easier for family members to find more general dentists who can provide dental care for persons with disabilities. Although children and adults may have a disability or a disabling condition, they can still take care of their teeth or rely on their family members for assistance."
"Access to and the ability to receive quality dental care is the number one health problem that children and adults with intellectual disabilities face," according to Steven Perlman, DDS, consultant and global clinical advisor for Special Olympics Special Smiles program.
"Access to and the ability to receive quality dental care is the number one health problem that children and adults with intellectual disabilities face," according to Steven Perlman, DDS, consultant and global clinical advisor for Special Olympics Special Smiles program.
"The Academy of General Dentistry Foundation is to be congratulated in its partnership with Special Olympics to try to eliminate the disparities and barriers faced by this most neglected population. Joining our colleagues in the American Academy of Family Physicians we can now integrate oral health with total health to improve the quality of life for our athletes."
"The Academy of General Dentistry Foundation is to be congratulated in its partnership with Special Olympics to try to eliminate the disparities and barriers faced by this most neglected population. Joining our colleagues in the American Academy of Family Physicians we can now integrate oral health with total health to improve the quality of life for our athletes."
Special Olympics and the AGD Foundation will work together specifically to improve the health of and access to health care for Special Olympics athletes and the broader population with intellectual disabilities.
Special Olympics and the AGD Foundation will work together specifically to improve the health of and access to health care for Special Olympics athletes and the broader population with intellectual disabilities.
They will ask general dentists willing to provide health care services for persons with intellectual disabilities to identify themselves through the Special Olympics Provider Directory, available through the Special Olympics Web site, www.specialolympics.org, and will jointly provide continuing education opportunities for interested general dentists to better prepare themselves to address and respond to the health needs of persons with intellectual disabilities.
They will ask general dentists willing to provide health care services for persons with intellectual disabilities to identify themselves through the Special Olympics Provider Directory, available through the Special Olympics Web site, www.specialolympics.org, and will jointly provide continuing education opportunities for interested general dentists to better prepare themselves to address and respond to the health needs of persons with intellectual disabilities.
The general dentists will be asked to recruit more athletes from their practices to participate in Special Olympics, to volunteer on behalf of Special Olympics, and to help identify a dental home for as many Special Olympics athletes as possible.
The general dentists will be asked to recruit more athletes from their practices to participate in Special Olympics, to volunteer on behalf of Special Olympics, and to help identify a dental home for as many Special Olympics athletes as possible.
