Destination Dental School A Remote Pipeline Program to Increase Student Diversity Thikriat Al-Jewair, D.D.S., M.S., FRCD(C); Jessica Scates, M.Ed.
ABSTRACT Promoting diversity among dental school applicants and enrollees is key to tackling oral health disparities and improving learning outcomes. Building the pipeline has proven to be an effective method to increase diversity and heighten interest in dentistry among students. Destination Dental School is an eight-week remote pipeline program aimed at increasing diversity of historically underrepresented minority (HURM) students in the field of dental medicine. Pre- and postprogram surveys showed that the program was effective in fostering HURM students’ interest in dentistry and increasing their knowledge and preparedness for dental school applications. According to the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), only 18.2% of applicants to dental schools for entry in 2020 were historically underrepresented minority (HURM).[1] Although this percentage has increased over the past decade, the change is modest, and the lack of diversity in the dental workforce remains a problem in the dental profession, and it is well below the proportions reported for minority groups (Black/African-American, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaskan native, Pacific Islander and Hawaiian) in the U.S. Census.
26
JANUARY 2022
●
The New York State Dental Journal
An abundance of research exists that highlights the importance of diversity in health professions, including dentistry. Promoting diversity among dental school applicants and enrollees is important for tackling oral health disparities, which are partly triggered by a lack of HURM dental providers who understand HURM communities’ needs. A previous study[2] of practice locations that involved senior dental students showed that a higher percentage (68.7%) of Black/African-American students planned to practice in inner-city locations near underserved populations compared to white students (20%). Another study[3] reported that Black/ African-American dentists provide care to a patient pool that is disproportionately black (44.9%). Building the enrollment pipeline has proven to be an effective method to increase diversity and heighten interest in dentistry among students.[4,5]Although the percent increase in enrollment of HURM students has been marginal, this increase was reported to be greater in schools that offer pipeline programs as compared to those that do not. Several pipeline programs have resulted in an increase in diversity among dental school applicants and enrollees.[6,7] Despite the success of these programs, challenges still exist. In a recent qualitative study, Burns et al.[6] examined perceived barriers to dental school application among underrepresented pipeline program alumni. They found a lack of knowledge about the process and financial barriers, such as application fees and dental admission test (DAT) and interview costs, to be the major barriers. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a paradigm shift towards distance learning in dental education using syn-
