Dr. Laila Hishaw turned an \u201cah-ha\u201d moment three years ago into a mentoring program for youngsters of color who might want to pursue a career in dentistry.<\/p>\n
Dismayed by the small number of black dentists in the United States \u2014 fewer than 4 percent of the total, according to the American Dental Association\u2019s Health Policy Institute \u2014 Hishaw took action.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just put out a post, shared the stats, and said \u2018whose kid can I mentor?\u201d said Hishaw, a pediatric dentist in Tucson, Arizona.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw the responses, I saw that parents wanted their kids to know about dentistry. I said to myself I just have to mentor because if more kids knew about the rewarding careers in dentistry, then we\u2019d gain that interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
What started as a small-scale social-media campaign evolved into the Diversity in Dentistry Mentorship Program, a nationwide nonprofit that promotes the profession to middle- and high-school students. It features dentist mentors to provide training and counseling to pre-dental students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to reach them early,\u201d said Hishaw. \u201cEducation is one of the barriers for students of color. If a student of color expresses an interest in the medical field, guidance counselors always guide them toward nursing or medicine, never dentistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, we also want to prepare them to be qualified to be accepted into\u00a0dental school<\/a>. I want them to get into dental school, but I want them to finish dental school. Our network of mentors gives them the skills to be successful in dental school.\u201d<\/p>\n Representation and oral health go hand-in-hand<\/strong><\/p>\n When Hishaw received her doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2000, she said she was one of only a few students of color. But as a new practitioner trying to build and grow a practice, she was \u201ckind of in my own world.\u201d<\/p>\n Years later, the numbers revealed that professionally active black dentists declined from 3.8 percent to 3.7 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the Health Policy Institute. Conversely, the number of Asian dentists increased from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent, and the number of Hispanics increased from 4.6 percent to 5.6 percent. Dentists from other racial or ethnic backgrounds rose from 0.5 percent to 1.6 percent.<\/p>\n \u201cStudies show that minority patients are more likely to visit medical professionals from their own communities,\u201d Hishaw wrote in an April 2021 ADA News op-ed. \u201cWithout dentists of color, minority groups often go without the dental care they need.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of this has to do with cultural understanding and trust \u2014 or lack thereof. Regaining the trust from black communities, particularly in older populations, is necessary, due to the historical unethical betrayal by government agencies,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n The outcomes are problematic.<\/p>\n A\u00a0report by the Pew Charitable Trusts<\/a>\u00a0in 2016 said children of color are less likely than white children to see a dentist and receive preventive care, and that people of color are more likely than whites to suffer from untreated tooth decay.<\/p>\n \u201cIf more communities had dental professionals who looked like them, would they be more willing and able to access the dental care they need? I believe so,\u201d Hishaw said in her op-ed.<\/p>\n Fear drives diversity foes<\/strong><\/p>\n While Hishaw is working to \u201clengthen and strengthen\u201d the dental pipeline from middle school to dental school, the push for diversity has its detractors. Dr. Drew Jones, a dentist and former adjunct professor at Roseman University of Health Sciences, College of Dental Medicine in South Jordan, Utah, believes culture and excellence will elevate dentistry.<\/p>\n \u201cDiversity may or may not elevate dentistry, but excellence will. When our country downplays meritocracy and excellence, we are hurting ourselves,\u201d Jones wrote in an op-ed published in April in the Journal of the American Dental Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies are the greatest indicator of a child\u2019s success,\u201d he wrote, concerned about the number of out-of-wedlock births.<\/p>\n \u201cThe percent of births that occurred outside of marriage also increased for non-Hispanic black women (black) between 1990 and 2016, from 63 to 69 percent,\u201d according to\u00a0Child Trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cChange the culture to one which is more friendly to education, and the number of black dentists will change,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n He also asserts that Hishaw\u2019s largely white patient count and a degree from a predominantly white university undermine her credibility as a proponent for diversity.<\/p>\n Hishaw declined to comment on Jones\u2019 article. \u00a0Jones could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n