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The Delta Dental Institute announced
its second class of Delta Dental
Oral Health Diversity Fund Awardees

Among the awardees, SAID received $200,000 to expand its Telling the Story of a Path to Dentistry: Connecting American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Dentists with AI/AN Youth programming.

SAID’s Telling the Story of a Path to Dentistry: Connecting American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Dentists with AI/AN Youth program links AI/AN dentists serving as volunteer oral health ambassadors with Native high school students to tell their story about becoming a dentist and inspire more Native youth to consider a career in dentistry.

SAID's President, Dr. Cristin Haase shared, "The Society of American Indian Dentists is humbled to be named a 2024 Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund Award for our "Telling the story of a path to dentistry: Connecting AI/AN dentists with AI/AN youth program. "As a two-time awardee, we are grateful for the trust the Delta Dental Institute has placed in our organization to make a meaningful contribution toward exposing more Indigenous youth to the oral health professions."

As part of their Driving Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce campaign, in 2024, Delta Dental has awarded over $980,000 to fund innovative programs that inspire school-aged children from historically underrepresented groups to pursue careers in oral health.

"Delta Dental is committed to supporting the next generation of diverse oral health professionals. We are proud to announce our second class of Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund awardees. These programs provide school-aged children from underrepresented communities with access to mentors and innovative educational opportunities that pave the way toward careers in oral health,” said James W. Hutchison, President & CEO of Delta Dental Plans Association. "It is inspiring to see the interest and excitement these programs are creating. We look forward to continuing to support solutions that advance the oral health workforce.”Research has shown that racial and ethnic diversity among health professionals is linked to better patient satisfaction and improved health outcomes. However, the current oral health workforce does not reflect that diversity; fewer than 0.2% of dentists are American Indian/Alaska Native.

WHO WE ARE

SAID is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the unique needs of Indigenous dentists, while also increasing the number of Indigenous dentists in the United States.

Dr. George Blue Spruce, Jr., is the first American Indian dentist in the United States, graduating from Creighton University School of Dentistry in 1956. He is also the founder of the Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID). In discussing the need for an organization like SAID, he said, “I looked behind me, and I saw very few American Indians going through to become doctored health professionals. And so I thought that I would think very seriously about an organization that would help promote that effort” (Blue Spruce, 2012). 

Since its founding in 1990 with just a few members, SAID has promoted dental health in American Indian communities, encouraged AI/AN youth to pursue careers in the profession of dentistry, provided role-model leadership, and promoted and supported the unique concerns of AI/AN dentists. Membership has doubled over the last couple of years, and about half of those members are students.

 

Dedicated to increasing the number of Indigenous Dentists in the United States

American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are considered underrepresented minorities (URM) in the field of dentistry, with only 0.2 percent of the active U.S. dentists in 2012 identifying as AI/AN. Evidence suggests that improving workforce diversity promotes social justice as well as increasing access, health equity, and health care quality, particularly for minority populations (Institute of Medicine, 2004)*.

 As an organization dedicated to increasing the number of Indigenous dentists, SAID:

  • Coordinates an annual conference that provides opportunities:
    • To connect with peers, dental students, and pre-dental students, as well as other oral health professionals;
    • For continuing education on topics of particular interest to those working in AI/AN communities, both rural and urban;
    • To engage in the diverse cultural traditions of sovereign tribal nations across the continent; and
    • To engage together in community service to AI/AN communities in the region of the conference.
  • Provides DAT prep awards to AI/AN dental students to support their applications to dental schools.
  • Provides travel stipends to the annual conference to pre-dental and dental students as opportunities to network with other AI/AN students and develop mentorship relationships with experienced dentists.
  • Offers a formal mentorship program to further enhance and support the dental journey of our students.

The Beauty of SAID Membership

The Society of American Indian Dentists celebrates our students who have made a commitment to prepare themselves to care for our communities. And, we celebrate our professional members who are making an impact in the lives of our people by providing quality oral health care to our communities.

We know it will take 105 new dentists graduating each year to meet the need in our communities while only 5 will graduate in 2023. Therefore, each and every day, SAID is committed to increasing the number of Indigenous students accepted to dental school through mentorship, scholarship, and resource opportunities as well as educating dental schools on the importance of admitting more Indigenous students into their programs.

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More about SAID Members

The dentists who belong to Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID) are both the subject expert professionals and members of their tribal communities. It is not possible to separate the two. Decisions are based on both professional and personal knowledge and experience, with the mission and values of SAID informing direction and action.

Our perspective includes the belief that no one can be as uniquely qualified to treat our peoples as we are. It remains of utmost importance for Native American people to gain equal representation as providers in the field of dentistry in order for our people to achieve oral health parity. American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) (also referred to as Native Americans) currently suffer from the worst oral health outcomes in comparison to any racial or ethnic group within the United States.